Japanese shares fall on U.S. Fed's gloomy economic view

TOKYO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell on Thursday, tracking Wall Street lower, as the U.S. Federal Reserve's minutes showed that policymakers were concerned about the uncertain path of economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 fell 0.7% to 22,948.86 by the midday break, with 73 advancers on the index against 146 decliners.

The broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.5% to 1,605.67. All but six of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded in negative territory, with real estate .IRLTY.T , electric appliances .IELEC.T and metal products .IMETL.T being the three worst performers.

Minutes from the Fed's July 28-29 meeting published on Wednesday showed policymakers judged that the swift rebound in employment seen in May and June had likely slowed and that additional "substantial improvement" in the labour market would hinge on a "broad and sustained" reopening of business activity. the Fed's minutes, Wall Street retreated to close lower, while the dollar put on the biggest one-day surge since March. .N FRX/

The yen weakened to last trade at 106.09 per dollar, which analysts say supported the Japanese market from further declines.

Shares of semiconductor-related companies underperformed, as sentiment was hit after the U.S. Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX lost 0.63% overnight.

Screen Holdings Co Ltd 77.35.T slipped 4.07%, while Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T and Advantest Corp 6857.T fell 2.16% and 2.65%, respectively.

The Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firm shares lost 0.88%, a day after it rallied to a two-year high.

Panasonic 6752.T was one of the top percentage gainers in the index, rising 2.59%, after media reported the company would invest more than $100 million to boost its battery production capacity for Tesla TSLA.O .