TOKYO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed slightly lower Thursday in choppy trade as investors both sold to lock in recent gains with overall losses capped by those spurred to buy on the back of a comparatively weaker yen, giving some cyclical issues and exporters a boost.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average shed 21.06 points, or 0.09 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 22,451.86.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, dropped 7.35 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 1,624.16.
Owing to a dearth of fresh cues, trading was choppy throughout the day, local brokers said, with some investors opting to secure profits made here following the Nikkei's recent winning streak through Wednesday and prompted by a drop on Wall Street overnight.
They highlighted economic data in the U.S. as triggering the retreat, with investors once again concerned about the health of the world's largest economy as retail data released for September came in subpar and pointed to consumer demand contracting for the first time in seven months.
Maki Sawada, vice president of the investment research and investor services department at Nomura Securities Co. said that investor sentiment was dented and concerns raised about damage to the U.S. manufacturing sector possibly spreading to other areas of the economy.
Overall losses were pared, however, by the yen's retreat against the U.S. dollar, which gave exporters and chip-makers a boost, in twine with Apple Inc. reporting solid sales of its new iPhone, market strategists here said.
Murata Manufacturing closed the day 1.1 percent higher, after its chief executive Tsuneo Murata told local media the electronic components market was bottoming out, raising expectations the downturn in the sector was coming to an end.
Chip-linked issues that found favor, meanwhile, included silicon wafer manufacturer Sumco, who gained 1.6 and silicon supplier Tokuyama who closed the day 1.3 percent higher.
Glass makers lost ground, however, following rapid rises in the immediate days after a powerful typhoon battered Japan last weekend, on hopes for a substantial increase in demand for glass-related products.
As a result, Nippon Electric Glass dropped 2.2 percent, while glass maker AGC tumbled 4.2 percent.
By the close of play, electric power and gas, and land transportation issues led notable decliners, while marine transportation and electric appliance issues comprised those that gained the most.
On the main section on Thursday, 1,114.78 million shares changed hands, dropping from Wednesday's volume of 1,427.31 million shares, and issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,433 to 636 on the First Section, with 86 ending the day unchanged.
The turnover on the penultimate trading day of the week came to 1,923.3 billion yen (17.67 billion U.S. dollars).
