By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, March 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
dropped more than 1% on Friday after a five-day winning streak,
as financial and tech stocks tumbled, taking cues from an
overnight slump on Wall Street.
Automakers also slid as the yen rebounded further from a
multi-month low, cutting the value of overseas sales. Seven & i
Holdings plunged about 5% to lead Nikkei decliners
after announcing more supermarket closures and an exit from the
apparel business.
Investors were largely unconcerned about a Bank of Japan
policy decision later in the day, with no changes expected from
Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's last meeting before retirement.
However, a crucial U.S. jobs report is also due on Friday,
which could shape the scale of a Federal Reserve rate increase
this month.
The Nikkei dropped 1.1% to 28,309.18, as of 0142
GMT, after touching a more than six-month high of 28,734.79 on
Thursday.
Every sector was down, with financials leading the way with
a 1.8% drop. Of the index's 225 components, 188 fell against 32
that rose and five that were flat.
The broader Topix slumped 1.2% to 2,047.00,
retreating from Thursday's 17-month high of 2,071.60.
Overnight, the U.S. S&P 500 index tumbled 1.8%, and
E-mini futures pointed to a further 0.4% decline at the
reopen.
"Compared to the decline in the U.S., the bottom for
Japanese stocks feels relatively firm," said Kazuo Kamitani, an
equity strategist at Nomura Securities, adding that investors
would be keeping an eye on whether the Nikkei can keep above
this week's closing low of 28,237 from Monday.
"In terms of Japanese monetary policy, there's very little
indication in the stock market of any expectation for a change."
Chiba Bank was the Nikkei's biggest decliner after
Seven & i, slumping about 4%. Startup investor SoftBank Group was next with a 3.8% slide. Sony dropped 2.9%.
Among automakers, Mitsubishi Motors lost 2.3%,
Nissan slid 1.8% and Toyota slipped 0.8%.
Printers were standout winners though. Dai Nippon Printing surged 7.3% after announcing a share buyback. Peer
Toppan gained 7.3%.
(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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