At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 135.15 points, or 0.47%, to 28,725.47. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange shed 11.45 points, or 0.57%, to 1,990.79.
Total 28 of 33 Topix industry groups ended down, with bottom performing issues were Textiles & Apparels (down 1.2%), Precision Instruments (down 1.2%), Metal Products (down 1.16%), Electric Appliances (down 1%), and Nonferrous Metals (down 0.9%) issues, while top performing issues included Warehousing & Harbor Transportation Services (up 0.9%), Rubber Products (up 0.7%), and Air Transportation (up 0.6%) issues.
Shares of automakers were lower, with Toyota Motor down 0.6% and Honda Motor down 1.1% on reports that they have been sued by a U.S. patent management company for alleged patent infringements over their use of communications technologies for network-connected cars.
Shares of air transportation issues gained ground after preliminary laboratory studies showed the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech offered some protection against the new Omicron variant. ANA Holdings rose 0.3% and Japan Airlines added 0.9%.
CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar hovered around the mid-113 yen range on Thursday. The dollar fetched 113.48-50 yen compared with 113.64-74 yen in New York and 113.40-41 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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