Tokyo: Shares snap 4-day winning run as Sony, Panasonic drag

[TOKYO] Japanese shares snapped a 4-day winning streak on Thursday (Feb 3), weighed down by weaker Nasdaq futures, while investors sold tech stocks amid worries over Sony Group's gaming business and a drop in Panasonic's quarterly profit.

The Nikkei share average fell 1.06 per cent to 27,241.31, while the broader Topix lost 0.86 per cent to 1,919.92.

All 3 Wall Street benchmarks ended higher overnight, but the mood turned sour in post-market trade when Facebook-owner Meta Platforms plunged as much as 22 per cent after missing analysts' earnings estimates and posting a weaker-than-expected forecast.

"The Japanese market was dragged down by declines in US futures this morning, which fell because of the losses in Meta shares outside trading hours," said Takatoshi Itoshima, a strategist at Pictet Asset Management.

"And, Japanese companies seemed to have lost their momentum," Itoshima said, adding forecasts of some companies were strong but the overall growth in profit had slowed.

Shares of Sony Group fell 6.08 per cent after 4 straight sessions of gains, as concerns about the company's gaming business re-emerged amid component shortages and competition from bigger rivals.

Panasonic lost 6.86 per cent after the industrial conglomerate posted a bigger-than-expected 44 per cent slide in third-quarter operating profit.

Other technology heavyweights also fell, with chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron losing 2.3 per cent and medical technology platform M3 shedding 9.19 per cent.

Japan Airlines lost 1.91 per cent after the airliner forecast an annual net loss of 146 billion yen (S$1.7 billion).

Rival ANA Holdings fell 0.88 per cent.

Bucking the trend, NTT gained 1.68 per cent after a report said the phone company's operating profit for the 9 months through December would rise 3 per cent to about 1.55 trillion yen. REUTERS