Nikkei slips from over 30-yr high on profit booking; Toyota, chip shares shine

TOKYO: Japan's benchmark stock average Nikkei snapped a four-session rally on Friday, slipping from a more than 30-year high hit in the previous trading session, as investors booked profits but gains in Toyota Motor and chip shares capped the losses.

Nikkei share average edged down 0.23% to 29,495.01, after hitting a fresh high since August 1990 on Wednesday. The broader Topix inched up 0.04% to 1,931.68.

Markets were closed on Thursday for a public holiday.

"Investors are taking a pause as they wait for the market price to consolidate after a recent sharp rise," said Koichi Kurose, chief strategist at Resona Asset Management.

"The gain in the past few weeks was led by optimism for each individual company, not by the growth for overall industries. Investors are waiting to confirm whether the recovery is true."

Toyota Motor jumped 3.38% after the automaker said it has up to four-month of stockpile of chips and raised its full year earnings forecast by a bigger-than-expected 54%.

This led to a fall in its rivals' shares, with Honda Motor falling 2.94% and Nissan Motor losing 2.6%. Isuzu Motors fell 1.24%.

Chip-related shares gained after Philadelphia semiconductor index hit record highs overnight as Bloomberg News reported US President Joe Biden's administration pledged aggressive steps to address chip shortage.

Tokyo Electron jumped 3.5%, Sumco rose 3.67% and Advantest gained 3.18%.

Renesas Electronics rose 3.31% after it posted a 45.6 billion yen ($434.99 million) annual net profit, rebounding a 6.3 billion yen loss year ago.

The top underperformers among the Topix 30 were Honda, followed by Fanuc which lost 2.00%.

The top gainers were Nintendo, which jumped 3.85%, followed by Nidec rising 2.83%.

There were 77 advancers on the Nikkei index against 146 decliners.