Tokyo stocks snap three-day winning streak

Tokyo stocks snapped a three-day winning streak Monday with profit-takers reversing early gains ahead of the release of key economic data in the U.S. and China this week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.24 percent, or 54.86 points, to close at 22,495.99 while the broader Topix index fell 0.22 percent, or 3.83 points, at 1,776.73.

"Tokyo shares opened higher on the back of gains on Wall Street but they sank into negative territory due to selling" to lock in profits, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary.

"Major shares which were bought last week took a breather," he said.

On Wall Street the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each ended at records last week.

The dollar was changing hands at 111.33 yen, down from 111.55 yen in New York late Friday, and well off the 112 yen levels earlier last week.

Mitsubishi Materials dropped 1.99 percent to 3,685 yen after plunging more than eight percent on Friday as it admitted to falsifying product data.

Electronics parts giant Murata Manufacturing fell 1.43 percent to 15,830 yen while chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron lost 1.77 percent to 22,930 yen.

Sony was up 0.75 percent to 5,363 yen while Toyota edged up 0.04 percent to 7,026 yen.

Source:AFP