TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended lower Friday, following falls on Wall Street with investors spooked by a lacklustre rise in US consumer spending.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.73 percent, or 457.42 points, to end at 25,935.62 yen, while the broader Topix index ended down 1.38 percent, or 25.78 points, at 1,845.04.
The dollar fetched 134.85 yen, against the 135.75 yen seen Thursday in New York.
Tokyo stocks opened slightly higher, rebounding from sharp falls the previous day, but soon fell into negative territory.
“Investors were discouraged” by lower-than-expected US consumer spending data, Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
Commerce Department data showed spending rose just 0.2 percent in May, less than half the increase in April and part of a steady downward drift as consumers pull back amid surging prices.
The Japanese market was also dragged down by sharp falls among semiconductor-related shares, with Tokyo Electron, a major producer of tools to build semiconductors, plunging 3.70 percent to 42,660 yen.
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Advantest, a major producer of chip-testing tools, slid 2.75 percent to 7,060 yen.
The sell-off trend extended to other major shares in Tokyo, with Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing plummeting 3.99 percent to 68,240 yen.
Sony Group lost 2.56 percent to 10,810 yen, while Nintendo slumped 2.24 percent to 57,360 yen.
SoftBank Group trimmed early gains to lose 1.98 percent to 5,131 yen.
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