TOKYO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday on lackluster technology shares, with investors cautious ahead of the release of U.S. consumer price index data later in the day.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed down 180.63 points, or 0.65 percent, from Tuesday at 27,819.33.
The broader Topix index ended 3.37 points, or 0.17 percent, lower at 1,933.65.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by air transportation, electric appliance, and precision instrument issues.
Stocks were dragged down by overnight declines on U.S. stock markets including the technology-heavy Nasdaq index after U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology Inc. warned of a dismal forecast on Tuesday, while investors awaited U.S. inflation data that could influence the Federal Reserve's tightening path.
Market analysts said that investors' sentiment of a global economic slowdown strengthened following weak earnings from Micron Technology and Japan's Tokyo Electron Ltd.
Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron, whose net profit in the first quarter failed to meet market expectations earlier this week, fell 2.6 percent, while chip-testing equipment maker Advantest lost 3.6 percent. Screen Holdings was down 2.7 percent.
Meanwhile, companies that reported robust earnings gained, with Sumitomo Forestry climbing 8.5 percent and Idemitsu Kosan at 3.4 percent. Analysts noted that the market was supported by the buying of shares in domestic firms that revised up their earnings outlooks the previous day.
Market players also refrained from active selling ahead of a local holiday in Japan on Thursday, with the focus shifting to the U.S. inflation data for July that could guide the upcoming rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, according to analysts.
"An increase in the core CPI is likely to prompt the Federal Reserve to implement a 0.75 percentage point interest rate hike in September," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd.
Some brokers warned that the Fed's aggressive rate hikes will lead to higher borrowing costs for firms and households, likely pressuring U.S. stocks as well as Japanese shares.
Among Prime Market issues, declining issues outnumbered advancers 896 to 874, while 68 ended unchanged.
Trading volume on the Prime Market fell to 1,055.22 million shares from Tuesday's 1,125.24 million. ■