Japan’s Nikkei slips below 27,000 level as U.S. futures skid

TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei edged down on Tuesday, trading below the 27,000 psychological level reclaimed a day earlier, as U.S. futures skidded and investors struggled to find fresh catalysts after the earnings season came to an end.

The Nikkei share average had slipped 0.4% to 26,888.18 by 0207 GMT after opening higher, while the broader Topix was down 0.33% at 1,888.37.

“With little indicators in the market, the number of participants was limited, which made the market to waffle,” said Chihiro Ohta, assistant general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities’ investment research and investor services.

The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main board was 0.54 billion, compared with the average 1.27 billion in the past 30 days.

Investor sentiment was also weighed down by worries about China’s economic outlook, persistently high inflation across the globe, aggressive attempts by the U.S. Federal Reserve to control rising pricing pressures, and increasing energy costs, said a strategist at a domestic brokerage.

The services sector led the declines among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes. Staffing agency Recruit Holdings led the losses on the sub-index with a 4.41% drop.

Advertising agency Dentsu Group fell 1.86%.

Banking shares traded 0.38% higher after JPMorgan Chase & Co, the largest U.S. lender, raised its current-year interest income outlook.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 1.02% and was the top gainer among the top 30 core Topix names.

Trading firms were also strong, with Itochu rising 1.2% and Mitsubishi Corp climbing 1.23%.

There were 96 advancers on the Nikkei index against 124 decliners. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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