Tokyo shares end morning lower on profit-taking

Tokyo shares end morning lower on profit-taking

	Published : Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:23 By : Agencies Print this Story

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices ended the morning session lower after investors, following the lackluster performance of stocks on Wall Street overnight, locked-in yesterday's gains, dealers said.

Investors were also waiting for the outcome of the two-day meeting of the Bank of Japan's policy board, although the market expects the central bank to leave its overnight call rate target unchanged at 0.5 pct.

The blue-chip Nikkei 225 Stock Average ended the morning 103.10 points or 0.58 pct lower at 17,640.66, off a low of 17,613.15.

The TOPIX index of all first-section issues was down 7.32 points or 0.42 pct at 1,730.78, off a low of 1,727.91.

Decliners were beating gainers 1,108 to 477, with 136 issues flat.

Volume was 998 mln shares, down from 898 mln yesterday morning.

Hideo Mizutani, chief strategist at Sieg Securities, said: 'The market here fell on profit-taking, following the mixed performance on Wall Street after its holiday.'

He added: 'Also, the market was generally cautious and they were hesitant to take large positions ahead of the earnings seasons in Japan and the US.'

But investors showed appetite for steel and non-ferrous metals stocks after a rise in prices of metals such as copper.

Among steel stocks, Nippon Steel was up 24 yen or 3.1 pct at 808, Sumitomo Metal Industries gained 13 yen or 2.3 pct at 584 and JFE Holdings was 180 yen or 2.8 pct higher at 6,630.

Among non-ferrous metals stocks, Mitsubishi Materials advanced 19 yen or 3.5 pct to 568, Sumitomo Metal Mining rose 35 yen or 1.6 pct to 2,210 and Dowa Holdings gained 18 yen or 1.5 pct at 1,211.

Among auto makers, Nissan Motor fell 16 yen or 1.2 pct to 1,276, Toyota Motor lost 120 yen or 1.6 pct at 7,420 and Honda Motor declined 90 yen or 2.1 pct to 4,100.

Electronics stocks were lower. Advantest fell 120 yen or 2.1 pct to 5,630, Elpida Memory lost 120 yen or 2.3 pct at 4,980 and NEC Electronics was down 50 yen or 1.6 pct at 3,040.

(1 usd = 118.86 yen)

kaori.kaneko@xfn.com