TOKYO: Tokyo shares gave up early gains and closed lower Thursday on profit-taking, despite recent rallies in US and Japanese markets.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.47 percent or 135.15 points to end at 28,725.47, while the broader Topix index lost 0.57 percent or 11.45 points to 1,990.79.
"There was a moment when the Nikkei index moved into positive territory... but it fell on profit-taking and the market lost a sense of direction," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
Wall Street stocks were up for a second straight session as investors cheered early indications that the latest Covid-19 variant may be less severe than earlier versions, with the tech-rich Nasdaq enjoying a three-percent jump.
The dollar fetched 113.60 yen in Asian trade, against 113.68 yen in New York late Wednesday.
In Tokyo trading, automakers ended lower after a report said two Japanese carmakers are being sued by a US-based patent management company for alleged infringement on patents covering in-vehicle communication technologies.
Toyota lost 0.55 percent to 2,056.5 yen, Honda fell 1.11 percent to 3,201 yen and Nissan dropped 2.25 percent to 555.7 yen.
Sony Group shrank 1.40 percent to 14,070 yen while industrial robot maker Fanuc tumbled 1.83 percent to 24,050 yen.
SoftBank Group gained 1.05 percent to 5,551 yen.
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