TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei lost traction on Friday on downbeat earnings both at home and on Wall Street, erasing some of the previous day's advance which had pushed the benchmark to a 2-1/2-month peak.
The Nikkei share average ended the day down 0.45% at 21,658.15. The index had risen to 21,823.07 the previous day, its highest since May 7.
Technology companies, which had given a big boost to the broader market over the past week, slid as their U.S. peers fell overnight after a strong rally.
Industrial robot maker Fanuc Corp fell 1.6% and Tokyo Electron lost 1.4%.
"Shares which made large contributions to the Nikkei's recent gains lost traction after the Nasdaq fell," said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan Inc.
Omron Corp was down 7.5% after the maker of digital medical equipment reported that its June quarter consolidated operating profit declined 41.2% to 10 billion yen ($92 million), with business hit by the U.S.-China trade conflict.
Nissan Motor Co shed 3.2% after the automaker unveiled its biggest restructuring plan in a decade in the wake of a collapse in its quarterly profit.
Nisshin Seifun Group slumped 10.7% as the food company reported that its June quarter net profit fell 27.2% to 4.43 billion yen with its milling operations in the United States facing increasing competition.
The broader Topix shed 0.4% to 1,571.52.
Of Tokyo's 33 sub-indexes, 23 were in negative territory, led by the non-ferrous metals sector.
All of Wall Street's three main indexes fell from record highs on Thursday following a flurry of downbeat quarterly results from Ford Motor and other companies and after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi's comments disappointed investors hoping for a more dovish stance on monetary policy.
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