TOKYO, March 24 (Reuters) - Japanese shares traded lower
on Friday, as a stronger yen raised concerns about impact on
exporters' earnings, while gains in heavyweight technology
stocks capped declines.
The Nikkei index lost 0.26% to 27,348.72 by the
midday break, and is set to inch up 0.05% for the week.
The broader Topix dropped 0.18% to 1,953.81 and is
poised to post a 0.2% weekly loss.
"There were little market moving cues today. Shares fell
because investors did not find strong reasons for buying," said
Chihiro Ohta, assistant general manager at the investment
research and investor services at SMBC Nikko Securities.
Toyota Motor Corp fell 0.36% and Honda Motor Co Ltd lost 0.53%.
Uniqlo brand owner Fast Retailing Co Ltd lost 1.16%
to drag the Nikkei the most. Medical equipment maker Terumo Corp slipped 3.165 and a robot maker Fanuc Corp fell 1.15%.
Oil explorers fell 1.17% to become the worst
performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange after oil prices fell. Financial sectors were weak, with the banking index slipping 0.74% and insurance index losing
0.87%.
Chip-related shares, which tracked a gain in their U.S.
peers overnight, limited losses on the Nikkei. Chipmaking
equipment maker Tokyo Electron Ltd gained 1.73% and
Advantest Corp rose 0.91%.
Toshiba Corp surged 5.08% after its board accepted
a buyout offer from a group led by private equity firm Japan
Industrial Partners.
Of the Nikkei components, 57 stocks rose and 161 fell, while
decliners seven stocks were flat.
The volume of shares traded on the TSE's main board was 0.52
billion, compared to the average of 1.28 billion in the past 30
days.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Varun H K)
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