Tokyo: Stocks close lower on profit-taking

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks closed lower on profit-taking Thursday, snapping a five-day winning streak, with trade cautious after modest Wall Street rallies and investors weighing the prospects for recovery in major economies.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slid 0.33 per cent or 93.18 points to end at 28,549.01, while the broader Topix index fell 0.50 per cent or 9.65 points to 1,911.02.

"The Nikkei index fell after rising for five consecutive days and the market was weighed down by profit-taking," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

Investors are also awaiting data including a US manufacturing report due next week, analysts said.

In Tokyo trading, Fujitsu dropped 2.99 per cent to 17,950 yen a day after the government said some data were leaked because of a hacking attack involving Fujitsu software widely used by ministries.

SoftBank Group lost 2.19 per cent to 8,092 yen.

Automakers were higher with Toyota climbing 0.83 per cent to 8,980 yen and Honda rising 1.51 per cent to 3,347 yen.

Nissan gained 1.84 per cent to 536.7 yen after local media reported that around 90 overseas institutional investors have filed a suit demanding 34.4 billion yen (S$417.3 million) for damage from the automaker.

The dollar fetched 109.07 yen in Asian trade, against 109.13 yen in New York late Wednesday.

AFP