By Stanley White
TOKYO, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell on Wednesday after manufacturing activity in the United States contracted by the most in more than a decade, offering further evidence that the U.S.-China trade war is slowing global growth.
The Nikkei average share price index ended down 0.49% at 21,778.61.
A survey from the U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Tuesday showed manufacturing activity in the United States tumbled to a more than 10-year low in September as the trade war weighed on exports. ISM figures were surprisingly low, and this is having a direct impact on Japan's industrial shares," said Kiyoshi Ishigane, chief fund manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co.
"Exports don't make up such a large share of the U.S. economy, but there are still concerns about global trade," he said.
There were 150 decliners on the Nikkei index against 69 advancers on Wednesday.
Heavy equipment makers and exporters led declines as any weakness in the United States - a major market for Japanese capital goods - and a slightly stronger yen could impact corporate profits.
The largest losers in the index by percentage were Nissan Chemical Corp 4021.T down 5.43%, followed by Rakuten Inc 4755.T losing 4.76% and Yaskawa Electric Corp 6506.T down by 4.22%.
The largest gainers were Kansai Electric Power Co Inc 9503.T up 3.22%, followed by KDDI Corp 9433.T gaining 2.99 %, and Casio Computer Co Ltd 6952.T up by 2.69%.
The broader Topix index .TOPX fell 0.42% to 1,596.29.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board .TOPX was 1.01 billion, compared to the average of 1.18 billion yen in the past 30 days. ($1 = 107.8300 yen)
Cooling U.S. consumer spending underscores risks to economy