Marketgems Earnings Trader- Trading Strong or Weak Earnings Growth

[jenna]

Tokyo stocks soft, bank sector weighs on market
(UPDATE: Updates to midafternoon)

TOKYO, May 25 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks remained soft in midafternoon trade on Friday, with losses in the banking sector weighing heavily on the broader market and offsetting modest gains in select bellwether techs such as Sony Corp .
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Mizuho Holdings , the world's largest banking group, was down 2.16 percent at 679,000 by 0436 GMT ahead of an earnings announcement after the market close.

The benchmark Nikkei average slipped 0.26 percent or 36.17 points to 13,859.62, while the capital-weighted TOPIX (^TOPX - news) shed 0.01 percent or 0.16 points to 1,365.72.

Market sources said investors' desire to assess and compare results from all of Japan's major banks would hinder active buying or selling, likely keeping the market in tight box for the remainder of Friday's session.

``We've hit the peak in the earnings season and investors are understandably a bit cautious. Additionally, foreign institutions are grabbing a round of profits ahead of the three-day weekend on Wall Street, capping the topside,'' said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of Nikko Securities products group.