Japanese stocks fell by mid-afternoon on Monday as renewed worries about oil prices and prospects of higher U.S. rates prompted investors to cash in gains in recent risers such as banks and real estate firms. Exporters such as Advantest Corp <6857.T> came under pressure on concerns about the impact of high oil prices on corporate earnings and major economies after an attack by suspected al Qaeda militants in top oil exporter Saudi Arabia on Saturday. A lack of leads from the United States, where the market is closed on Monday for a holiday, was also making investors cautious, analysts said.
The Nikkei average <.N225> was down 1.31 percent at 11,161.83 by 0506 GMT, after gaining 3.16 percent in the previous three sessions. The broader TOPIX index <.TOPX> fell 0.89 percent to 1,132.18. "There's no need to buy (stocks) now when everything is so uncertain, like oil prices and U.S. interest rates," said Teruhisa Ishikawa, a manager at Mizuho Investors Securities' investment information department. Ishikawa said investors were likely to continue holding back this week as cautions mount ahead of a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Thursday, where raising output will be discussed. U.S. non-farm payroll figures are also due out on Friday. Analysts said the data was expected to provide a clue to when and by how much the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise its interest rates from a 46-year low of 1.0 percent. Others said investors were wary about how Wall Street would react to the attack on foreign oil workers in Saudi Arabia when the New York market reopens on Tuesday. Oil futures rose across the board in Tokyo on Monday as Saudi Arabia's vow to keep crude flowing smoothly failed to ease investors' worries about supplies. Among exporters, semiconductor testing device maker Advantest, which generates about two thirds of its sales overseas, dropped 3.23 percent to 7,500 yen. Tokyo Electron Ltd <8035.T>, the world's second-largest maker of chip equipment, shed 3.02 percent to 6,110 yen. UFJ Holdings <8307.T>, the smallest of Japan's top four banks, extended falls into a fifth day, with investors wary about the business prospects of the country's sole loss-making megabank. UFJ dropped 4.87 percent to 527,000 yen and its big borrowers were also lower, with home builder Misawa Homes Holdings <1722.T> losing 7.1 percent to 288 yen. Real estate firms suffered a sell-off, and industry giant Mitsui Fudosan Co <8801.T> fell 3.98 percent to 1,205 yen. Real estate was the biggest losing sector, with its sub-index <.IRLTY> down 2.25 percent after total gains of 4.28 percent last week.///