Tokyo stocks close lower as investors locked in gains

TOKYO, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday as profits were locked in on technology and other issues after the Nikkei index surged to a one-month high in the previous trading session.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average finished down 162.28 points, or 0.56 percent, from Tuesday at 28,906.88.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended 6.03 points, or 0.3 percent, lower at 1,998.99.

Declining issues were led by rubber product, food and electric appliance issues.

Nikkei opened nearly flat and was in negative territory for most of the trading session after on Tuesday it logged its highest close since Nov. 25. Technology issues that led to Tuesday's gains encountered a sell-off, especially because market participants locked in gains, brokers said.

Sentiment was also hurt by weak shares in China's Hong Kong and Shanghai, which dropped on worries about the spread of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 in China and its influence on the global economy, brokers said.

"Some semiconductor issues recently surged, so it was natural that they met selling," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, an equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co.

Meanwhile, the market's downturn was lifted by participants snapping up frustrated stocks before the final trading day on Thursday, he added.

On the First Section, advancers outnumbered decliners 1,587 to 540, while 49 finished unchanged.

Among chip-manufacturing equipment makers, Tokyo Electron slid 650 yen (5.65 dollars), or 1.0 percent, to 66,140 yen (575.4 dollars), and Advantest dropped 180 yen (1.57 dollars), or 1.6 percent, to 10,880 yen (94.65 dollars).

Bucking the downward trend, J. Front Retailing, which operates Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores, gained 73 yen (0.64 dollar), or 7.4 percent, to 1,059 yen (9.21 dollars), following an upbeat earnings report by the company for the nine months to Nov. 30.

Other department store operators also increased after J. Front Retailing released its earnings report. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings added 8 yen (0.07 dollar), or 0.9 percent, at 861 yen (7.49 dollars), while Takashimaya climbed 5 yen (0.04 dollar), or 0.5 percent, to 1,077 yen (9.37 dollars).

Trading volume on the main section dropped to 852.58 million shares from Tuesday's 952.49 million shares.