TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Japan's benchmark stock average
Nikkei snapped a four-session rally on Friday, slipping from a
more than 30-year high hit in the previous trading session, as
investors booked profits but gains in Toyota Motor and chip
shares capped the losses.
Nikkei share average .N225 edged down 0.23% to 29,495.01,
after hitting a fresh high since August 1990 on Wednesday. The
broader Topix .TOPX inched up 0.04% to 1,931.68.
Markets were closed on Thursday for a public holiday.
"Investors are taking a pause as they wait for the market
price to consolidate after a recent sharp rise," said Koichi
Kurose, chief strategist at Resona Asset Management.
"The gain in the past few weeks was led by optimism for each
individual company, not by the growth for overall industries.
Investors are waiting to confirm whether the recovery is true."
Toyota Motor 7203.T jumped 3.38% after the automaker said
it has up to four-month of stockpile of chips and raised its
full year earnings forecast by a bigger-than-expected 54%.
This led to a fall in its rivals' shares, with Honda Motor
7267.T falling 2.94% and Nissan Motor 7201.T losing 2.6%.
Isuzu Motors 7202.T fell 1.24%.
Chip-related shares gained after Philadelphia
semiconductor index .SOX hit record highs overnight as
Bloomberg News reported U.S. President Joe Biden's
administration pledged aggressive steps to address chip
shortage. Tokyo Electron 8035.T jumped 3.5%, Sumco 3436.T rose
3.67% and Advantest 6857.T gained 3.18%.
Renesas Electronics 6723.T rose 3.31% after it posted a
45.6 billion yen ($434.99 million) annual net profit, rebounding
a 6.3 billion yen loss year ago.
The top underperformers among the Topix 30 were Honda,
followed by Fanuc 6954.T which lost 2.00%.
The top gainers were Nintendo 7974.T , which jumped 3.85%,
followed by Nidec 6594.T rising 2.83%.
There were 77 advancers on the Nikkei index against 146
decliners
($1 = 104.8300 yen)