Tokyo's Nikkei closes lower

TOKYO: Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index ended lower on profit-taking Friday as few fresh cues for trade emerged following a mixed close on Wall Street.

The Nikkei 225 index lost 0.39 percent, or 103.72 points, to end at 26,652.52, while the broader Topix advanced 0.33 percent, or 5.80 points, to 1,782.01.

The market lacked a sense of direction as traders were caught between worries over rising Covid-19 infections in Japan and abroad, and optimism that vaccines will allow a return to normal economic activity, according to Mizuho Securities.

"An upward trend was seen in the morning but the market was weighed down by profit-taking," Okasan Online Securities said.

On Wall Street, the Dow and the broad-based S&P ended down as US jobless claims rose more than expected, said Tapas Strickland, senior analyst at National Australia Bank.

"It is clear the US labour market has deteriorated given the rise in Covid-19 cases and the re-imposition of restrictions," he said.

In Tokyo trading, market heavyweight SoftBank Group dropped 4.73 percent to 7,913 yen while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing lost 1.30 percent to 84,030 yen.

Toyota rallied for the second day, jumping 4.54 percent to 7,820 yen after a report said it plans to launch vehicles carrying next-generation solid-state batteries in the early 2020s.

Its rival Honda fell 1.16 percent to 3,064 yen and Nissan slid 1.26 percent to 554.1 yen.

Nintendo gained 2.25 percent to 60,340 yen.

The dollar fetched 104.02 yen in Asian trade, against 104.22 yen in New York late Thursday.