Nikkei slips on US credit, Japan politics worry

TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) The Nikkei average dipped 0.21 percent Tuesday as Kyocera Corp. fell after its earnings failed to impress investors, and U.S. credit concerns and political uncertainty after an election in Japan put a lid on the market.

Semiconductor-related shares also lost ground after industry data showed a plunge in orders for Japanese chip-making equipment in June.

Advantest Corp declined 1.5 percent to 4,610 yen and Tokyo Electron Ltd was down 0.6 percent at 8,680 yen.

The defeat of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling camp in Sunday's upper house elections created political uncertainty, keeping investors from diving into the market, said Yasuo Yabe, director of sales at Meiwa Securities.

''Share prices look discounted with the Nikkei trading at a PE of 18, but the political concern is keeping the market from going up,'' he said.

The Nikkei lost 35.21 points to 17,254.09 as of 0117 GMT. The benchmark lost more than 800 points last week amid U.S. credit concerns and over Japan's election.

The broader TOPIX index rose 0.09 percent to 1,707.29.

Technical factors also kept some share prices listless, said Yumi Nishimura, manager in the investment advisory section at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. Ltd.

Market participants suspect retail investors who bought shares on margin are likely to sell in August. The Nikkei and many other shares hit this year's highs in February, and investors who bought shares at the time on margin with six-month terms will likely sell them in August, she said.

Kyocera tumbled 6.4 percent to 11,490 yen after UBS said Monday's results were as expected and lacked vigour, though Kyocera reported upbeat quarterly results and kept its full-year projections unchanged.

Profit-taking also weighed on steel shares, with JFE Holdings Inc. down 1.2 percent at 8,250 yen and Nippon Steel Corp slipping 0.7 percent to 912 yen.

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