Nikkei snaps 4-day winning streak on profit-taking, digests U.S. job data

By Ayai Tomisawa

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Monday morning, snapping a four-day winning streak as investors remained cautious after the market rebounded sharply last week, while the market quickly digested Friday's U.S. jobs data.

The Nikkei fell 0.6 percent to 16,920.01 in midmorning trade, after rebounding 5.1 percent last week.

Analysts said that investor risk appetite had returned since oil prices rebounded and the yen's strengthening had paused, but profit-taking from last week's rally would likely keep the market under pressure on Monday.

Mining shares, which had soared in the past four days, languished. Inpex Corp fell 1.9 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co shed 0.6 percent.

Bank stocks had a weaker tone, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group falling 0.5 percent, Mizuho Financial Group shedding 1.7 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group sliding 0.2 percent.

Exporters were mixed. Toyota Motor Corp fell 2.1 percent, Honda Motor Co dropped 0.5 percent and Panasonic Corp rose 1.0 percent.

U.S. stocks gained as investors took heart from employment data which soothed investors' concerns about a sluggish economy without bolstering fears of an imminent interest hike. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 242,000 jobs last month. However, lower wages and hours kept a lid on inflation, a key factor as the Federal Reserve considers when next to raise U.S. interest rates.

"The result of the U.S. jobs data was neutral to Japanese investors. The market will continue to stay focused on macro data such as this week's GDP," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, an equity strategist at Daiwa Securities.

Japan's economy is forecast to have shrunk an annualised 1.5 percent in October-December last year, a Reuters poll of 21 analysts showed, slightly worse than the early estimate of a 1.4 percent contraction. The revised data is due out Tuesday.

Sharp Corp soared 7.3 percent as investors expect Taiwan's Foxconn will close a deal this week to buy Sharp.

The broader Topix fell 0.9 percent to 1,362.61 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 1.0 percent to 12,322.29.

(Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Eric Meijer)