Japan's Nikkei flat as market weighs Trump tariff concerns

Updates with mid-morning market prices, analyst comments

By Brigid Riley

TOKYO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average was nearly flat in morning trade on Monday, as investors weighed tariff risks and losses across all three U.S. stock indexes last week dragged on investor sentiment.

The Nikkei .N225 was flat at 38,792.60, as of 0149 GMT, while the broader Topix .TOPX fell 0.2%.

Amid news that U.S. President Donald Trump will announce new 25% tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminium imports on Monday, Japanese steel makers .ISTEl.T fell around 1%.

Nippon Steel 5401.T was down 1.6%.

The latest tariff threats come after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with Trump in his first White House summit on Friday.

While the details of steel tariffs have yet to be made clear, the meeting between Ishiba and Trump came off well, said Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist at T&D Asset Management.

"When looking at the global picture, I believe Japan is in quite a good position."

No tariffs specifically targeting Japan have been announced, and while Trump pressed Ishiba to close Japan's annual trade surplus with Washington, he expressed optimism this could be done quickly.

On Sunday, Ishiba identified liquefied natural gas, steel, AI and autos as areas that Japanese companies could invest in.

Among heavyweights, Tokyo Electron 8035.T, TDK Corp 6762.T, and Shin-etsu Chemical 4063.T gained, while Fast Retailing 9983.T declined.