TOKYO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday in choppy trade as a comparatively firm yen dented market sentiment and weighed on exporter issues early on, with Chinas yuan dropping against the U.S. dollar also adding to a risk-off market mood.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 66.80 points, or 0.29 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 22,697.88.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 4.61 points, or 0.26 percent, to finish at 1,744.98.
The yen's firmer tone saw exporters drift lower, local brokers here said, with a drop in Chinese yuan also giving some investors cause to pause.
But issues sensitive to domestic demand helped cap losses on hopes for solid quarterly earnings, set to be reported soon, market strategists here said.
By the close of play, nonferrous metal, marine transportation, and iron and steel-orientated issues comprised those that declined the most, and falling issues beat rising ones by 1,342 to 672 on the First Section, while 89 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Thursday, 1,262.02 million shares changed hands, rising from Thursday's volume of 1,206.60 million shares.
The turnover on the final trading day of the year came to 2,397.5 billion yen (21.33 billion U.S. dollars).
