Japanese stocks closed down 0.40 percent on Friday as investors took profits a day after the market hit a three-month high, dealers said. They said the latest reports on Asia's largest economy, showing a rise in the jobless rate and stubborn deflation, had injected a note of caution into the market as the year-end approaches.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 42.21 points to 10,494.71. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares declined 4.33 points, or 0.47 percent, to 909.39. Turnover was thin at only about 1.2 billion shares, the lowest level for a full trading day in 2009, with many investors away for year-end holidays.
"The market gained quite sharply recently, so it was time for a break," Daiwa Securities SMBC market analyst Yumi Nishimura told Dow Jones Newswires. The dollar's firmness against the yen limited the market's downside, however, dealers said. A weak yen raises competitiveness of Japanese products overseas. "Whether the Nikkei can test further upside beyond 10,500 in coming sessions is mostly up to dollar-yen movements," said Meiwa Securities senior market analyst Masayoshi Yano.
The dollar was at 91.47 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, compared with 91.46 in New York late Thursday. Among major exporters, Toyota Motor fell 1.0 percent to 3,850 yen, while Nissan Motor lost 1.1 percent to 787 yen and Canon dropped 1.7 percent to 3,950 yen.
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