Japanese shares dropped on Thursday as machinery makers underperformed, hit by worries that global trade tensions could hurt demand after Donald Trump sought to impose fresh tariffs on China.
The US President’s administration is pressing China to cut its trade surplus with the United States by $100 billion, the White House said on Wednesday.
The Nikkei fell 0.8 per cent to 21,605.76 in midmorning trade, reports Reuters.
Construction machinery maker Komatsu Ltd dropped 2.6 per cent and Hitachi Construction Machinery stumbled 3.6 per cent.
Axle bearings maker NTN Corp tumbled more than 5.0 per cent, machine tool maker DMG Mori dropped 3.5 per cent and numeric control machine tool maker Okuma Corp dived 5.4 per cent.
Shippers tumbled after the Baltic Dry Index, or freight charges, fell. Mitsui OS Lines dropped 2.5 per cent and Kawaka Risen fell 2.2 per cent.
The broader Topix index dropped 0.6 per cent to 1,732.02.