Tokyo: Stocks close lower on profit-taking

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks closed down on Thursday as investors locked in profits after the Federal Reserve brought forward its forecasts for hiking interest rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9 per cent, or 272.68 points, to 29,018.33, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.6 per cent, or 12.29 points, to 1,963.57.

Japanese shares faced selling pressure from the outset after the Federal Reserve sent signals it was moving closer to tightening monetary policy.

"The Fed news triggered profit-taking," said Shinichi Yamamoto, a broker at Okasan Securities.

But a cheaper yen against the dollar is offering some support to the market, analysts said.

The greenback fetched 110.74 yen (S$1.34) in Asian afternoon trade, against 110.64 yen in New York and 110.07 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday.

Japan plans to lift Tokyo's virus emergency on June 20, a month before the Olympics, the government announced Thursday.

"Lifting the state of emergency is good news but investors remain cautious due to concerns about another rebound of infections," Mr Yamamoto told AFP.

In Tokyo, Sony dropped 2.3 per cent to 10,450 yen as SoftBank Group fell 1.39 per cent to 7,897 yen on profit-taking.

But Toyota, which topped the 10,000 yen mark for the first time earlier this week, rose 0.54 per cent to 10,230 yen.

AFP