The Nikkei lost 0.45 percent on Friday as lower oil prices pushed down energy stocks including trading firms such as Mitsui & Co Ltd, while Credit Saison Co Ltd dropped ahead of its earnings results.
Kirin Brewery Co Ltd jumped after the company said it would buy a controlling stake in wine maker Mercian Corp to expand outside of Japan's shrinking beer market.
Amid lingering concern about Japan's economic outlook, investors played it safe, scooping up defensive stocks such as food and drug shares. "The market lacks a driver - sectors or stocks - which could pull it higher, and money was headed for defensive stocks," said Shinji Igarashi, an equity manager in the sales department at Chuo Securities. The Nikkei fell 72.14 points to 16,091.73. On the week the Nikkei ended down 0.13 percent, booking its third straight weekly loss.
The broader TOPIX index shed 0.54 percent to 1,573.54. Daisuke Uno, a strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, said investors had built long positions when the Nikkei aimed for 17,000 yen in late October, but some bearish economic indicators prompted them to unwind their positions. "Some investors had anticipated that the economy would improve further, but those people now have to sell stocks as things did not turn out that way," he said.
Oil and gas developer INPEX Holdings Inc fell 3.5 percent to 934,000 yen after US crude oil futures slumped more than 4 percent to their lowest level in almost a year. Trading firms that handle natural resources also came under pressure, with Mitsubishi Corp down 1.4 percent and Mitsui falling 3.8 percent.
Credit Saison, a consumer credit firm and the largest in credit cards among retail companies, declined 3.7 percent to 3,640 yen. After the market closed, the firm reported a half-year net loss. Calpis Co Ltd jumped 5 percent to 861 yen on speculation that the lactic acid drink maker could be another take-over target.
After the market closed, Nifty Corp, an Internet service provider wholly owned by Japanese electronics group Fujitsu Ltd, said it had set a tentative price range of 200,000 yen to 220,000 yen per share, lower than its initial assumed price of 250,000 yen per share, ahead of its planned listing on December 7.
One notable stock was Marusho Co Ltd, which tumbled 25.2 percent to 80 yen after the Tokyo Stock Exchange asked the kimono wholesaler on Thursday to submit a report on improving company information publications. Unless Marusho submits the requested report to the exchange by November 30, the company might be delisted. Trade volume rose for the first time in three sessions, with 1.72 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section. Decliners beat advancers by a ratio of three to one.
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