* Nikkei down slightly after 7 losing sessions
* Uncertainties over U.S.-China standoff keep investors onedge
* Takeda Pharma, Nissan sink after earnings shock
* Mitsubishi Estate jumps on share buyback, governancereform
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - Japanese share prices were cappedon Wednesday by concerns about the broader economic impact ofrising tensions between Washington and Beijing, while an arrayof disappointing corporate earnings added to the downcast mood.
The Nikkei share average was off 0.08% at 21,051,after spending much of the session under water, even after sevenstraight days of losses until Tuesday.
The broader Topix, which hit a four-month low theprevious day, was down 0.03% at 1534.51.
Trade-sensitive stocks came under pressure, even thoughglobal shares have somewhat stabilised after U.S. PresidentDonald Trump made optimistic comments on trade talks with China.
Trump insisted trade discussions with China had notcollapsed, denying talks with Beijing had broken down afterWashington punctuated two days of negotiations last week withanother round of tariffs on Chinese imports.
"Although we saw some recovery in share prices after Trump'scomments, there are heightened uncertainties over trade, whichare negative for stocks," said Shusuke Yamada, chief Japan FXand equity strategist at Bank Of America Merrill Lynch.
Steelmakers fell 2.4% while shippersdropped 0.9%.
Not helping sentiment was Japanese corporate earnings, withnet profits falling almost 5.0% from a year earlier inJanuary-March, according to Okasan Securities.
Takeda Pharmaceutical fell as much as 8.6%. Japan'sbiggest drugmaker forecast an unexpected operating loss for thecurrent year due to costs associated with the $59 billionpurchase of Shire Plc.
That helped to bring down Tokyo Stock Exchange's drugmakersubindex 3.1%, making it the worst performer.
Nissan Motor slumped as much as to 8.0% to itslowest levels since late December 2012, after the carmakerforecast the weakest profit outlook in more than a decade.
"The earnings results suggested that the company is in muchworse shape than I have imagined," said Hiroshi Masushima,market analyst at Monex Securities.
The carmaker, hit by former chairman Carlos Ghosn's arrestlast year and troubles at its North American business, also saidits dividend will be cut about 30% in another blow to investorsas its hefty payouts have been the only major attraction.
H2O Retailing fell as much as 12.7% to seven-yearlows as the mid-tier department store operator posted weakearnings and guidance.
On the upside, Mitsubishi Estate jumped as much as11.2% after the real estate developer announced its first sharebuyback and a plan to abolish anti-takeover steps.
Decliners slightly outnumbered advancers by 1065 to 992.(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
