Japanese shares decline as banking sector worries continue, yen strengthens

By Yantoultra Ngui

SINGAPORE, March 23 (Reuters) - Japan's equities declined on Thursday, tracking a weaker Wall Street, as persistent concerns on the global banking sector following the U.S Federal Reserve's hike and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's remarks weighed on financials.

The Nikkei index dropped 0.24% to 27,400.37 by the midday break, while the broader Topix fell 0.44% to 1,954.33.

The weaker performance comes amid a backdrop of a broader muted Asian market, mainly hurt by remarks from Yellen who told lawmakers overnight that she had not considered or discussed "blanket insurance" for U.S. banking deposits without approval by Congress.

The sentiment was further weighed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comment that the central bank would do "enough" to tame inflation, despite suggestion that it was on the verge of pausing rate hikes.

"This month's flare-up in financial stability is set to tighten lending conditions and hurt growth," Mansoor Mohi-uddin, Bank of Singapore's chief economist, said. "We continue to see a U.S recession this year."

"Investors should thus remain cautious on risk assets, expect a weaker U.S dollar as Fed rate hikes peak, and keep favouring high-quality bonds as safe-haven hedges against recession risks," he added.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.43% to 130.87 per dollar on Thursday.

Financial stocks like the Chiba Bank Ltd and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc were among the decliners in the Nikkei Index, dropping 2.11% and 1.76% respectively.

Gainers included recruitment firm Recruit Holdings Co Ltd and vehicle maker Suzuki Motor Corp, which rose 5.07% and 2.78% respectively.

Losers beat gainers by 117 to 99, while nine remained unchanged.

On the Topix, hotels operator Agora Hospitality Group Co Ltd and artificial intelligence company HEROZ Inc were among the top losers, down 8.00% and 7.47% respectively.

Technology firm MegaChips Corp and semiconductor company Axell Corp were the biggest gainers, up 11.98% and 12.53%, respectively.

Losers in the Topix outpaced gainers by 1,209 to 815, with 135 unchanged. (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Varun H K)