Nikkei slips on profit-taking, logs weekly gain

TOKYO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
slipped on Friday as profit-taking ahead of the weekend trumped
optimism over a broad economic recovery, though the index gained
for a third straight week.
The Nikkei .N225 fell 0.72% to 30,017.92 .N225 , moving
further away from its 30-1/2-year high of 30,714.52 touched on
Monday. Still, it managed to end the week 1.69% higher.
The broader Topix .TOPX slipped 0.67% to 1,928.95 and was
down 0.25% for the week.
"Since the rally had been quite fast, we are having a bit of
correction," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a senior strategist at
Daiwa Securities, adding that the Nikkei's drop was in line with
falls in global stocks.
Fast Retailing 9983.T , which has the highest weight in the
Nikkei, fell 2.4%, reversing early gains as investors took
profits following its almost 10% rise this week.
Strong gains in Fast Retailing and other Nikkei heavyweights
including SoftBank Group 9984.T have boosted the index more
than the broader Topix, lifting the NT ratio .NTIDX to a
record 15.60 earlier in the day.
"It's true that Fast Retailing's earnings were pretty strong
but you could say that's all priced in, with its extremely high
valuations," said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan
Securities.
Online brokerage Monex 8698.T tumbled 10.4% after having
more doubled since the start of month by Thursday.
Some travel-related shares also slipped after gains earlier
this week following the start of the country's COVID-19
vaccination programme.
ANA Holdings 9202.T fell 3.9%, while Japan Airlines
9201.T fell 3.7%. Central Japan Railway 9022.T lost 3.7%.
Some tech names, however, bucked the trend, with capacitor
maker Taiyo Yuden 6976.T gaining 3.4%.
Toyota Boshoku 3116.T rose 1.7% after the company said
Toyota Motor 7203.T had sold a portion of its stake in the
firm, a move that is intended to increase free-floating shares
and enables the firm to be listed in the top-tier segment of the
Tokyo bourse in an upcoming board reshuffle in 2022.