Nikkei closes lower due to weak earnings

Japanese stocks closed lower on Monday after disappointing earnings, and semiconductor-related stocks were among the biggest decliners, tracking declines in US technology shares on weak earnings and concerns about Fed tapering.

The Nikkei fell 204 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 28,600.41 points, and it had fallen during the session to below 28,500 points, its lowest level in ten days.

The broader TOPIX index fell 0.34 percent to 1995.42 points.

Semiconductor shares lost 0.94%, Tokyo Electron fell 1.2%, and Screen Holdings fell 2% after the US Nasdaq fell on Friday on disappointing quarterly reports from Snap and Intel Corp.

Recruit Holdings was among the top gainers on the Topix index, while SoftBank’s shares fell 3.37 percent.