In This Article:
* Nikkei rises but faces profit taking near 23,000 mark
* Improvement in US-China trade woes seen needed for further push
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Japanese shares edged higher on Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street, although profit-taking and lingering trade concerns limited the market's gains.
The Nikkei was up 0.27 percent at 22,875.12, headed for its seventh straight session of gains.
The index had poked above 23,000 on Tuesday, reaching its highest since June 12 in intraday trading, before losing some traction.
"The Nikkei is top-heavy as profit-taking tends to kick in at these levels. The market, after all, has been rising for several days and the 23,000 mark is proving to be a tough level to overcome," said Hiroki Takashi, chief strategist at Monex Securities.
"For the Nikkei to break and remain above the 23,000 mark, trade conflict concerns will have to subside more convincingly. While recent NAFTA talks have helped, the United States and China will have to resolve their trade dispute to convincingly ease market concerns."
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged up to record closing highs for the third consecutive session overnight, extending a rally on positive developments in U.S.-Mexico trade disputes regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Technology shares led Wall Street's advance and their Japanese peers followed suit.
Tokyo Electron rose 1.1 percent, Advantest Corp added 1.15 percent, SUMCO Corp advanced 1 percent and Screen Holdings climbed 2.1 percent.
Automakers were mixed with the NAFTA revision deal between the United States and Mexico expected to affect the regional strategies of non-U.S. car manufacturers.
Toyota Motor Corp was up 0.3 percent, Mazda Motor Corp slipped 0.55 percent and Nissan Motor Co was little changed.
Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that the proposed U.S.-Mexico deal would allow Washington to impose punitive tariffs of up to 25 percent on imports of Mexican-made vehicles above certain volumes. Concerns are that Washington could use such tariffs to win concessions from the European Union and Japan as well.
Bunka Shutter Co was down more than 7 percent after the maker of shutters and building materials announced that it will issue 10 billion yen ($90.51 million) worth of convertible bonds.
Es-con Japan Ltd was untraded due to a glut of buy orders after the real estate operator said it will form a business and capital alliance with Chubu Electric Power Co .
Of Tokyo's 33 sub-indexes, 31 were in positive territory.
The broader Topix gained 0.46 percent to 1,739.52. ($1 = 110.4900 yen) (Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro Editing by Eric Meijer)