Tokyo's Nikkei closes marginally lower

TOKYO: Tokyo's key Nikkei 225 index closed slightly lower Monday on profit-taking, with few fresh market-moving events following a mixed close on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index inched down 0.06 percent or 18.16 points to end at 29,048.02, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.15 percent or 3.02 points to 1,965.67.

"The Nikkei index opened higher... but was later weighed down by profit-taking and there was no active buying due to a lack of fresh clues," said Okasan Online Securities.

Investors are awaiting fresh prompts for trade, including US manufacturing and payrolls data due this week, analysts said.

In Tokyo trading, Toshiba climbed 1.55 percent to 4,890 yen after its shareholders voted last week to oust the board's chairman -- the latest twist for the company after scandals and losses, and a rare victory for activist investors in corporate Japan.

Shionogi jumped 2.12 percent to 5,827 yen after a report said the pharmaceutical firm is planning to double production of its yet-to-be-approved Covid-19 vaccine to some 60 million doses next year.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group edged down 0.07 percent to 7,925 yen while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing gained 2.40 percent to 84,700 yen.

Chip maker Tokyo Electron dropped 1.63 percent to 48,170 yen.

The dollar fetched 110.72 yen in Asian trade against 110.79 yen in New York late Friday.