TOKYO: The main Tokyo stock index closed lower Wednesday after hitting a 25-year high the day before, as the yen firmed against the dollar.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.10 percent, or 23.78 points, to end at 22,913.82. The broader Topix index was up 0.24 percent or 4.31 points at 1,817.60.
“After the Nikkei index rose above benchmark levels in the past few days there is a sense of achievement in the market,” said Hideyuki Suzuki, senior analyst at SBI Securities.
“As corporate earnings reports by big names such as SoftBank and Toyota are over, there are few market-moving factors remaining.”
The dollar traded at 113.77 yen, down from 114.00 in New York.
On Tuesday the Nikkei 225 index closed at a quarter-century high, rising by 1.73 percent amid easing concerns over geopolitical risks and expectations for sound corporate earnings.
In Tokyo share trading Wednesday the stronger yen dented some exporters, including Uniqlo chain operator Fast Retailing and camera maker Olympus. They closed down 0.57 percent to 39,680 yen and 0.57 percent to 4,345 yen, respectively.
Nissan, which fell in morning trade, closed 0.67 percent higher at 1,118.5 yen after it downgraded its annual operating profit forecast following a damaging inspection scandal in its domestic market.
Nissan said it now expects to make an operating profit of 645 billion yen ($5.7 billion) for the year to March, a cut from its previous forecast of 685 billion yen.
Last month the automaker said it was recalling some 1.2 million cars in Japan that had failed to meet domestic rules on final vehicle inspections.
Toyota was up 0.98 percent at 7,254 yen after revising up its full-year net profit forecast on Tuesday thanks to a cheaper yen and cost-cutting efforts.
Mobile operator SoftBank lost 0.34 percent to 10,025 yen.
Source: Brecorder.com
