TOKYO, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks ended lower Friday as investor sentiment was dented by Wall Street's downbeat performance overnight and opted to book profits on the first day of the new fiscal year.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 155.45 points, or 0.56 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 27,665.98.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 2.13 points, or 0.11 percent, to finish at 1,944.27.
Local brokers said the market mood was soured by U.S. stocks losing ground overnight due to the situation in Ukraine and rising prices for materials and commodities as well as on concerns over a widening interest rate gap between Japan and the U.S. central banks.
"Investors tend to sell stocks at the beginning of a new fiscal year to book profits so that they can feel comfortable having cash available in the new year," Shoichi Arisawa, general manager at the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities, was quoted as saying.
"Overnight, U.S. stocks slumped to close out the first quarter with its biggest quarterly decline in two years, as concerns persisted about the continuing conflict in Ukraine, its inflationary effect on prices and the Federal Reserve's response," Arisawa added.
In addition, strategists here said a resurgence in new COVID-19 infections weighed on sentiment and saw land and air transportation issues trade lower owing to concerns over a drop in bookings and patronage ahead of the Golden Week string of national holidays beginning at the end of the month.
By the close of play, marine transportation, oil and coal product, and iron and steel issues led decliners, and issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,080 to 1,002 on the First Section, while 94 ended the day unchanged.
Technology shares followed their U.S. peers lower, with Tokyo Electron falling 2.5 percent, while Advantest dropped 1.8 percent.
Toshiba bucked the downward trend climbing 6.5 percent, however, on reports private equity firm Bain Capital had approached numerous shareholders of Toshiba about a possible acquisition of the conglomerate.
But transportation issues came under pressure on COVID-19 concerns, with Odakyu Electric Railway dropping 1.2 percent, while West Japan Railway lost 0.8 percent.
Nikkei heavyweight Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo clothing stores, dragged down the broader market losing 1.1 percent by the close.
On the main section on Friday, 1,190.29 million shares changed hands, dropping from Thursday's volume of 1,340.43 million shares.
The turnover on the final trading day of the week came to 2,893.56 billion yen (23.61 billion U.S. dollars). ■
