TOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
slid for a second straight session on Monday, as protests in
China over renewed COVID-19 clampdowns hurt investor sentiment,
while tech stocks declined in line with their Wall Street peers.
The Nikkei ended the day down 0.42% at 28,162.83.
The index closed 0.35% lower on Friday after hitting a more than
two-month high in the session before.
Of the Nikkei's 225 components, 173 fell, 45 rose and seven
closed flat.
The broader Topix sank 0.68%.
Selling in Japanese stocks accelerated after Chinese and
Hong Kong equity markets opened sharply lower, with the Hang
Seng index tumbling 4.2% at one point. However, both the Nikkei
and Topix indexes ended the day well off their lows.
A wave of protests unprecedented under Xi Jinping's rule has
swept China, including clashes with police in Shanghai, after
the government doubled down on pandemic restrictions to contain
a surge in COVID cases.
"This news is definitely a negative for Japanese stocks,
especially the tech sector, which has large exposure to Chinese
markets and supply chains," said Kenji Abe, an equity strategist
at Daiwa.
"A slowdown in the Chinese economy will have a big impact on
the Japanese stock market."
Tech stocks were already under pressure after Apple
fell sharply on Friday following a report that COVID
restrictions would further cut output at its flagship iPhone
factory in China. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index
also sagged 1.26% on Friday.
Chipmaking equipment makers Tokyo Electron and
Advantest dropped 1.56% and 0.54%, respectively.
Startup investor SoftBank Group - which is heavily
invested in Chinese tech companies including Alibaba and Didi -
slid 0.61%.
Nintendo and Sony slumped 0.89% and 0.78%
respectively, also weighed down by a stronger yen that cut the
outlook for overseas revenue.
Toyota and Honda fell 1.05% and 0.53%,
respectively.
(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; editing by Uttaresh.V and
Subhranshu Sahu)