Tokyo Stocks End Mixed, Dollar Down

TOKYO - Tokyo stocks ended mixed Monday as investors snapped up Toyota and other major exporter issues but sold shares in a bout of profit-taking. The dollar was down against the yen.

The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues fell 6.88 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 10,776.73 points. The benchmark closed up 4.17 points, or 0.04 percent, at 10,783.61 points Friday.

The index of all issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section rose 1.95 points, or 0.19 percent, to end at 1,049.46. The TOPIX lost fell 2.62 points, or 0.25 percent, on Friday.

The dollar was trading at 105.62 yen at 5 p.m. Monday, down 0.26 yen from late Friday in Tokyo and below the 105.95 yen it bought in New York later that day. The greenback traded between 105.58 yen and 105.80 yen in Tokyo.

Toyota, which rose 2.9 percent, led fellow auto manufacturers Honda and Nissan higher. Major high-technology exporters - such as copy maker Ricoh and consumer electronics conglomerate Hitachi - also gained.

But Sony and Canon, which had both climbed earlier in the day, succumbed to profit-taking. Sanyo Electric and Kyocera, which on Friday had both reported upbeat earnings results for the third quarter ended December, were also hit by investors seeking to lock in profits before the end of the fiscal year in March.

"The current selling has nothing to do with companies' fundamentals - it's just because book closing is approaching," said Toshio Sumitani, a strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.

Volume on the TSE's main first section was slightly heavier Monday, estimated at 1.008 billion shares, up from 1.003 billion shares Friday. Advancers overwhelmed decliners 994 to 428, with 111 issues ending unchanged.

In New York Friday, Wall Street fell after gross domestic product data showed the U.S. economy expanded at a 4 percent annual rate - less than the 4.8 percent analysts expected. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 22.22, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,488.07.

In other currency trade, the euro fell to $1.2450 from $1.2477 late Friday. Against the yen, the European currency was quoted at 131.56 yen, down from 131.84 yen.

The yield on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond rose to 1.3150 percent from 1.3100 percent late Friday. Its price fell 0.04 to 100.74 points.

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