TOKYO, Dec 25 — Tokyo stocks closed lower today in thin trade with foreign investors absent for the Christmas holidays and few fresh market-moving events.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.20 per cent, or 47.71 points, at 23,782.87, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.39 per cent, or 6.80 points, to 1,721.42.
“Shares moved just narrowly, which is typical of year-end trade,” said Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.
Investors “do not need to move now in the absence of major trading pegs,” he said.
Investors took to the sidelines as major markets abroad — in New York, Hong Kong, and London, among others — are closed today for the Christmas holiday, analysts also said.
In Tokyo, automakers were among losers, with Toyota slipping 0.83 per cent to 7,676 yen (RM290.42), Honda losing 0.51 per cent to 3,112 yen, and Mitsubishi Motors closing down 1.51 per cent at 456.
Nissan dropped 3.13 per cent to 633.1 yen after the crisis-hit automaker confirmed earlier media reports saying that its vice chief operating officer who is a key figure in restructuring the automaker has decided to quit just weeks after taking the job.
Jun Seki, 58, number three at Nissan, is expected to become president of major electric components maker Nidec, according to a source close to Nissan.
Nidec, in contrast, edged up 0.33 per cent to close at 15,155 yen.
Elsewhere, Panasonic edged 0.97 per cent lower to close at 1,012 yen and Sharp dropped 2.26 per cent to 1,640 yen. — AFP
