Tokyo Stock Prices Close Lower

Tokyo stocks fell Tuesday, chipping away at recent gains, as investors took profits in technology and export-related blue chips. The U.S. dollar was lower against the Japanese yen.

The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues closed down 115.37 points, or 1.05 percent, at 10,849.68 points. On Friday, the index gained 127.40 points, or 1.18 percent, to 10,965.05 – its highest close since the Oct. 21 finish of 11,031.52.

Japanese financial markets were closed Monday for a national holiday.

The dollar was trading at 106.54 yen by late afternoon Tuesday on the Tokyo foreign exchange market, down 0.50 yen from late Friday and also below the 106.70 yen it bought in New York late Monday. The currency traded between 106.45 yen and 106.72 yen on Tuesday.

On the stock market, investors pocketed gains made during two straight sessions of gains by the Nikkei last week.

High-tech stock Toshiba took a beating, falling 2.4 percent after surging 7 percent Friday.

Other technology issues, including Hitachi, Advantest and Tokyo Electron, also ended lower, as did automakers Honda Motor, Nissan and Toyota.

“The Nikkei is at a standstill,” with no clear incentives for investors to extend the benchmark index’s recent gains, said Toshihiko Matsuno, a senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.

At Tuesday’s close, the broader index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues was down 7.38 points, or 0.69 percent, at 1,058.40 points. The index rose 8.86 points, or 0.84 percent, Friday.

Volume on the first section was estimated at 1.386 billion shares, down from 1.580 billion Friday. Decliners led advancers 825 to 580, while 126 issues ended unchanged.

In currencies, Japan’s finance minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said the dollar’s recent weakening has been too rapid considering that U.S. economic fundamentals are firm.

“Considering the power of the U.S. economy, I believe that recent movements have been rather rapid,” he said, suggesting further weakening is unwarranted.

Japan wants a stronger U.S. currency because a falling dollar means less profit for Japanese exporters when dollars earned overseas are converted back into yen.

The euro bought $1.2750 late Tuesday in Tokyo, up from $1.2712 late Friday. Against the yen, the European currency traded at 135.81 yen, up from 135.72 yen.

The yield on Japan’s benchmark 10-year government bond slipped to 1.3000 percent late Tuesday from 1.3550 percent late Friday. Its price rose 0.48 to 100.87 points.

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On the Net:

Japan’s Tokyo Stock Exchange: http://www.tse.or.jp