Nikkei down 0.7 pct, trading firms hit by oil fall
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TOKYO, June 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.7 percent on Thursday, with trading houses such as Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) down on a fall in oil prices.
Softbank Corp (9984.T) jumped, cushioning the overall market's fall, after Japan's No.3 mobile phone carrier said it would start selling Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) popular iPhone in Japan. [ID:nT295311]
Market analysts said the Tokyo market was taking a breather after recent sharp gains, with overnight losses in the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI prompting investors to lock in profits.
"There are some alarming factors, such as possible downgrades of monolines," said Katsuhiko Kodama, a senior strategist at Toyo Securities, referring to U.S. bond insurers.
Moody's Investors Service said it is likely to cut the top credit ratings of the bond insurance arms of MBIA Inc (MBI.N) and Ambac Financial Group (ABK.N) on concerns about mortage-related losses and limited business prospects. [ID:nN04258339]
Financial shares fell, with Japan's top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) down 1.1 percent at 1,137 yen.
The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning down 99.78 points at 14,335.79. The broader TOPIX index lost 0.5 percent to 1,423.29.
Mitsubishi lost 3.3 percent to 3,520 yen and rival Mitsui & Co (8031.T) shed 4.1 percent to 2,470 yen after U.S. crude oil futures ended sharply lower for the second day in a row on Wednesday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude CLN8 settled down 1.6 percent at $122.30.
Trading houses are considered part of the natural resource sector as they have built up stakes in overseas oil fields and mines.
Oil and gas field developer Inpex Holdings Inc (1605.T) fell 1.6 percent to 1.27 million yen.
Softbank jumped 4.6 percent to 1,951 yen, making it the biggest positive contributor to the Nikkei.
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