Tokyo stocks sink for third straight day

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell for the third straight session on Friday as investors continued to cash in on recent gains following a negative lead from Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.82 percent, or 187.29 points, to close at 22,681.42 while the broader Topix index was down 0.70 percent, or 12.67 points, at 1,800.44.

"Players are still adjusting their positions following the recent sharp gains," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"But the adjustment period is unlikely to last long as corporate results are not bad," Horiuchi told AFP.

The dollar changed hands at 113.37 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, compared with 113.42 yen in New York.

Toshiba plunged 5.11 percent to 297 yen after a news report said it plans to raise some 600 billion yen ($5.3 billion) by offering new shares.

Kobe Steel, reeling from a quality data faking scandal, rose 1.93 percent to 1,107 yen as it plans to release preventive measures later in the day.

Toyota lost 0.80 percent to 7,108 yen with Nissan down 0.27 percent at 1,093, but Sony rose 0.49 percent to 5,252 yen.

On Thursday, Wall Street fell sharply amid reports Senate Republicans could delay until 2019 the deep corporate tax cuts promised by the Trump administration and long awaited by investors.