(Adds stocks, details)
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, April 10 (Reuters) - Japan's benchmark Nikkei was down
0.59 percent on Thursday as worries about the U.S. and Japanese
economies grew ahead of earnings results, with industrial robot
maker Fanuc Ltd <6954.T> hit by the double punch of sagging
machinery orders and a weaker yen.
All Nippon Airlines (ANA) <9202.T> and Japan Airlines Corp
(JAL) <9205.T> fell after Boeing Co <BA.N> said there would be a
third major delay in the delivery of the new Boeing 787
Dreamliner plane. []
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after United Parcel Service Inc
<UPS.N>, seen as a bellwether of U.S. economic activity, slashed
its earnings forecast, further stoking fears about the economy
there and casting a shadow over Japanese earnings as well.
Rising materials prices, as exemplified by Nippon Steel
Corp's <5401.T> announcement on Wednesday it would pay BHP
Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) triple what it paid the
world's top coking coal producer last year, and a strong yen may
hit Japanese balance sheets hard, market players said.
"Everyone said that poor results and poor forecasts were
factored in when the market hit its year low last month, but this
sort of price rise hadn't even been thought of then," said
Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities.
"This is likely to affect a lot of shares, and worries about
this have been causing the market to weaken the last few days."
Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd <3382.T> is due to announce
full-year results later on Thursday. Aeon Co Ltd <8267.T> on
Monday posted its first profit fall in a decade, raising fears
about the rest of the sector and the market as a whole.
"UPS slashing its forecast has really sparked fears about the
U.S. economy, and this is carrying over to Japan as our earnings
season moves into higher gear," said Kazuki Miyazawa, an analyst
at Daiwa Securities SMBC.
"There's a lot of concern about what these are going to say
about our economy."
MACHINERY ORDERS
Japan's core machinery orders fell 12.7 percent in February
after an unusually strong previous month, underlining the view
that Japanese companies will remain wary over uncertainties at
home and overseas.
Though the market appeared to have originally shrugged off
the figures, which were slightly better than forecasts, the data
took an inevitable toll on vulnerable shares, such as Fanuc,
which tumbled 5.1 percent to 9,370 yen, becoming the biggest drag
on the Nikkei 225 by volume weight.
JAL and ANA both said they were considering compensation from
Boeing over the delay of the 787 Dreamliner.
ANA spokesman Shinichi Shinkawa said the company, which is
scheduled to be the first airline to receive the 787, would
decide the size of compensation to seek once the overall impact
from the delay on its business became clear.
JAL fell by 2.3 percent to 255 yen and ANA was down 1.7
percent.
Nippon Steel started the day in negative territory but was up
0.6 percent at 504 yen by midday.
Trade was moderate on the Tokyo exchange's first section,
with 905 million shares changing hands, compared with last week's
morning average of 824 million.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of
nearly four to one.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies;)
