TOKYO, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed lower Monday snapping a nine-day winning streak as investors opted for profits ahead of the fiscal year-end, although losses were trimmed by the Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s bond-buying operation which gave exporters a boost on the yen's decline.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 205.95 points, or 0.73 percent, from Friday to the end of the day at 27,943.89.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 8.1 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 1,973.37.
Local brokers said that following the market's lengthy winning streak, investors were primed to lock in profits before issues rebounded, with eyes also on maneuvers ahead of the fiscal year-end this week.
"It's not surprising that after a nine-day winning streak, there would be a strengthening sense of caution about taking stocks higher," a local securities firm dealer said, adding, "It's natural that profit-taking would be the focus of trade now."
Losses were trimmed, however, by the Bank of Japan's offer to buy an unlimited amount of 10-year government bonds, underscoring its commitment to counter long-term interest rates.
The BOJ's move caused the U.S. dollar to soar above the 123 yen mark for the first time in six years, which saw exporters, reliant on a weaker yen to boost profits when repatriated, gain significant traction.
"The BOJ announced an exactly opposite policy from the Fed. Investors bought the dollar as the BOJ showed a strong commitment to keeping powerful monetary easing," Takuya Kanda, senior researcher at the Gaitame.com Research Institute, was quoted as saying.
By the close of play, issues that declined outpaced those that rose by 1,275 to 795 on the First Section, while 111 ended the day unchanged, with metal, marine transportation and service issues leading decliners.
Among exporters advancing on the yen's weakness, Toyota Motor added 0.6 percent, while Nissan Motor gained 1.8 percent.
Mitsubishi Motors, meanwhile, accelerated 3.4 percent by the close.
Chip-Related issues followed their U.S. peers' lower, however, with Tokyo Electron losing 1.3 percent, while Advantest dropped just over one percent.
Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing, a Nikkei heavyweight, ended the day 1.8 percent lower, dragging down the broader market.
On the main section on Monday, 1,110.24 million shares changed hands, dropping from Friday's volume of 1,186.85 million shares.
The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 2,582.01 billion yen (20.72 billion U.S. dollars). ■