TOKYO, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday as investors opted to secure gains after recent rises, with a firm yen against the U.S. dollar impacting exporters while geopolitical concerns also dented sentiment.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 204.22 points, or 0.95 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 21,258.64.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 14.00 points, or 0.90 percent, to finish at 1,545.90.
Tokyo shares were under pressure throughout the day as investors looked to lock in profits following the Nikkei's recent gains over the past two trading days, local brokers said.
They added that export-related issues in particular lost ground as the yen appreciated against the U.S. dollar on concerns over mounting tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which sent investors away from riskier assets like stocks and into safe havens, including the Japanese currency.
"Geopolitical risks grew…, prompting investors to seek the safe-haven yen dragging down Tokyo shares," Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., was quoted as saying.
Market strategists noted that in addition to exporters, issues sensitive to domestic demand were offloaded for profits following their recent gains, although energy-related issues found favor following an overnight rise in crude oil prices.
By the close of play, pharmaceutical, construction and real estate-linked issues comprised those that declined the most, and issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,458 to 619 on the First Section, while 68 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Friday, 1,536.66 million shares changed hands, rising from Thursday's volume of 1,017.96 million shares.
The turnover on the final trading day of the week came to 2,718.2 billion yen (25.28 billion U.S. dollars).
