TOKYO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell on Friday and
were set for their biggest weekly loss in more than two months
as mixed earnings, rising coronavirus cases and uncertainty over
the U.S. presidential election hurt sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.72% at 23,164.68 by
0202 GMT. The index has declined 1.58% this week, on course for
its biggest weekly loss since Aug. 21.
The broader Topix was down 1.25% at 1,590.92 on
Friday.
A surge in coronavirus cases in Europe and the United States
has rattled investor confidence this week, with France and
Germany reinstating lockdowns - a move that has raised concerns
over the global economic recovery.
The growing risk of an inconclusive result to the Nov. 3
U.S. election has also prompted investors to reduce long
positions in equities, analysts say.
Leading the losses on the Nikkei, Kyocera Corp fell
8.38%, followed by Omron Corp losing 5.5%, and Daiwa
Securities Group Inc down by 4.78%.
Makers of electronic parts Kyocera and Omron both fell after
their earnings, announced after market close on Thursday,
disappointed some investors.
Conversely, the largest percentage gainers were Seiko Epson
Corp up 9.67%, followed by Advantest Corp
gaining 8.7%, and Panasonic Corp up by 5.51%.% after
they reported improving margins.
Panasonic got another boost after saying it will develop a
new battery for electronic-car maker Tesla Inc.
There were 39 advancers on the Nikkei index against 181
decliners.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board was 0.46 billion, compared with the average
of 1.05 billion in the past 30 days.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Aditya Soni)