The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 594.66 points, or 1.46 percent, from Wednesday at 40,168.07. The broader Topix index finished 48.47 points, or 1.73 percent, lower at 2,750.81.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by pulp and paper, land transportation, and iron and steel shares.
The
At
The euro was quoted at
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond fell 0.010 percentage point from Wednesday's close to 0.705 percent, as the debt was sought following the
Stocks stayed in negative territory throughout the day on the selling of shares that went ex-dividend at the end of Wednesday's trading, with pension funds also carrying out rebalancing before the end of the current fiscal year, analysts said.
Investors also moved to lock in profits after the
"Exporters have become less attractive to buy with the Japanese government's talk of stemming the yen's fall," said
The market extended losses later in the day, as thin trading among many foreign participants ahead of closures in the
"Japanese investors likely felt there is no rush to buy today due to the lack of activity from overseas," said Horiuchi.
==Kyodo
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