Tokyo's Nikkei index closes lower for fourth straight day

TOKYO: Tokyo's bellwether Nikkei stock index fell for the fourth consecutive session on Friday as fresh doubts about US tax cut plans outweighed a robust business confidence survey.

The Nikkei 225 index lost 0.62 percent, or 141.23 points, to close at 22,553.22. Over the week, the benchmark index dropped 1.13 percent.

The broader Topix index was down 0.81 percent, or 14.67 points, at 1,793.47, with a weekly fall of 0.57 percent.

"While we don't have much of a buying peg today, we see worrisome news flowing in" about tax reform, said Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.

The Bank of Japan released a quarterly "Tankan" survey just before the opening bell, showing confidence among the biggest manufacturers at an 11-year high.

"The Tankan results were good but not strong enough to be a buying factor," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

Sentiment was dampened after reports that Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, could vote against the final tax cut package -- reviving worries about the long-anticipated plan.

The Senate approved its version of the measure by just two votes including Rubio's, leaving President Donald Trump's party little margin to lose support.

Another senator, John McCain, has been in hospital as he fights an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Should McCain's return be delayed, prospects for the tax overhaul would narrow substantially.

"Dark clouds have suddenly appeared" over the tax plan, Matsuno said.

In Tokyo stocks trade, heavy selling continued to hit telecom carriers as online commerce giant Rakuten said it wanted to set up its own mobile carrier in Japan, spawning worries that competition will intensify.

Mobile operator SoftBank dropped 2.39 percent to 8,931 yen while Rakuten itself plunged 5.48 percent to 1,025 yen.

Banks were broadly lower with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial losing 1.37 percent to 798.5 yen.

Exporters also dropped as the yen held up against the dollar, darkening their earnings outlooks.

Toyota sank 1.83 percent to 6,966 yen and Nissan lost 0.27 percent to 1,096.5 yen.

The dollar was trading at 112.18 yen Friday afternoon against 112.37 yen in New York Thursday afternoon.