Japan stocks drop on profit-taking, Asia losses

Japanese shares fell sharply Friday for the first decline in four days as sentiment was hurt by losses on other Asian markets and as investors sold stocks to lock in immediate profits after recent gains. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 180.46 points, or 2.09 per cent, to end at 8,459.26 after gaining 1.24 per cent Thursday. The broader-based Topix index was down 13.01 points, or 1.78 per cent, at 717.74. For the week, the Nikkei edged up 0.23 per cent while the Topix climbed 1.24 per cent. Tokyo stocks were hurt by declines on other Asian markets. By midafternoon, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index had dropped 0.69 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite Index had lost 0.13 per cent despite Beijing's move Thursday to cut its key lending rate for the first time in three and a half years to spur the economy. Shares in Sony Corp plummeted 5.32 per cent, Nissan Motor Co fell 2.49 per cent, Toyota Motor Corp lost 1.31 per cent, construction machinery maker Komatsu Ltd declined 2.18 per cent and Canon Inc was down 1.73 per cent. Japan's economy expanded at an annualized rate of 4.7 per cent in the January-March quarter on the back of stronger-than-expected domestic consumption, the government said Friday. The revised figure was more than the 4.1 preliminary figures released in May, and beat the 4.4-per-cent rise predicted by the business daily Nikkei. From the previous quarter, gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.2 per cent, the Cabinet Office said. Domestic consumption, which accounts for 60 per cent of Japan's GDP, climbed 1.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter, revised from a preliminary reading of a 1.1-per-cent increase, the office said. On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at 79.23-27 yen, little changed from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 79.27-29 yen. The euro was quoted at 1.2514-2525 dollars, down from 1.2547-2548 dollars late Thursday, and at 99.14-16 yen, down from 99.46-50 yen.