At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 102.76 points, or 0.35%, to 28,860.80. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined 5.51 points, or 0.28%, to 1,957.14.
Trading volume turnover in the 1st section increased to 994 million shares from 928 million shares in previous session. Trading value turnover increased to 2,302.96 billion yen from 2,186.44 billion yen in previous session.
Total 19 sectors of 33 sectors sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange ended lower, with Marine Transportation, Pulp & Paper, Securities & Commodities Futures, Machinery, Insurance, Banks, and Oil & Coal Products sectors being notable losers, while Air Transportation, Real Estate, Mining, Pharmaceutical, and Nonferrous Metals issues were notable gainers.
Investors opted to secure profits on caution before release of the US inflation data as it could influence how soon the Federal Reserve pares its stimulus programme.
Shares of technology players declined on profit-taking on following their overnight U.S. peers. Shin-Etsu Chemical lost 2.2%, Tokyo Electron fell 3% and Taiyo Yuden ended the day 3.5% lower. Lasertec, meanwhile, retreated 3.9%.
Shipping-oriented issues were also sold for profits after recent gains, with Kawasaki Kisen sinking 4.5%, while Mitsui OSK Lines dropped 3.6%.
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Shares of Eisai surged maximum-allowable single-day gain for a second straight day with investors taking heart from Monday's announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it has approved an Alzheimer's disease drug developed jointly by the Japanese firm and U.S. pharmaceuticals firm Biogen.
CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.084 hovering above the 90 level that it fell below earlier in the week. The Japanese yen traded at 109.40 per dollar, weaker than levels around 109.2 seen against the greenback earlier this week.
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