Tokyo shares fall on yen strength

Tokyo stocks drifted lower Friday as exporters were hurt by a stronger yen while Wall Street provided a lukewarm lead with concerns over Donald Trump's economic agenda still lingering. The yen benefited from a broad sell-off in the greenback after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said policymakers would review its bond-buying stimulus in the autumn, fuelling talk of a wind-down of the programme.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.22 percent, or 44.84 points, to 20,099.75 - slightly up over the week. The Topix index of all first-section issues lost 0.18 percent, or 3.02 points, at 1,629.99, a 0.28 percent rise since last Friday's close. Tokyo investors are looking to next week as major Japanese firms announce quarterly earnings while also eyeing key US data, including April-June economic growth, while the Federal Reserve holds its latest policy meeting.
"Buying sentiment weakened on the strong yen against the dollar," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities. "Current yen levels are still acceptable but investors are concerned about a further gain," Horiuchi told AFP. The dollar was at 111.84 yen in Tokyo compared with 111.94 yen late in New York and well off the 112.12 yen in Asia earlier Thursday. A stronger yen makes Japanese products more expensive overseas, dents profits earned abroad in yen terms and thus tends to weigh on exporters.
Global traders have been spooked by the crisis surrounding Trump's administration as it he faces probes over his campaign's links to Russia during the presidential election. On Thursday a report said Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor leading the probe, would look into past transactions involving the tycoon's firms and Russians, fanning further uncertainty.
In share trading Toyota fell 0.39 percent to 6,126 yen while Nissan slipped 0.35 percent to 1,136 yen. Honda dropped 0.74 percent to 3,076 yen. Sony shed added 0.11 percent to 4,539 yen but Panasonic lost 0.60 percent to 1,497.5 yen. Market heavyweight Fast Retailing, the parent of clothing giant Uniqlo, retreated 0.75 percent to 33,250 yen. Toshiba gained 5.55 percent to 277.5 yen after the troubled conglomerate announced it will list its Swiss subsidiary Landis+Gyr Group AG and sell its entire stake.