TOKYO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed slightly lower on Monday as technology issues were dragged down by their U.S. peers amid renewed concerns that higher U.S. interest rates will be prolonged owing to persistent inflation.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 29.52 points, or 0.11 percent, from last Friday to close the day at 27,423.96.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, added 4.38 points, or 0.22 percent, to finish at 1,992.78.
Local brokers said data released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday showing that consumer prices spiked contributed to the view that the U.S. Federal Reserve may continue with its aggressive monetary tightening policy for longer than previously thought.
They added that interest rates being hiked for a prolonged period of time stoked fears of the world's largest economy being tipped into a recession and negatively impacting the global economy.
The prospect of higher interest rates sparked concerns of higher borrowing costs, strategists here said, leading to high-tech issues on Wall Street losing ground late last week and dragging down their Japanese peers.
Among these, high-capped issues lost ground, with chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron losing 1.9 percent and technology startup investor SoftBank Group dropping 2.3 percent, both the biggest drags on the Nikkei.
However, exporters helped trim losses owing to a comparatively weak yen versus the U.S. dollar, with Mazda Motor accelerating 1.6 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors gained 2.4 percent.
Sony, meanwhile, ended the day 0.4 percent higher.
By the close of play, iron and steel, securities house and construction issues comprised those that gained the most.
Information and communication, retail and air transportation were among notable decliners.
The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 2,298.69 billion yen (16.86 billion U.S. dollars). ■