Tokyo shares off 3-1/2-month highs as firmer yen weighs on market

SYDNEY, June 9 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks retreated from a
3-1/2-month high on Tuesday as a firmer yen weighed on the
market, with automakers and chip-related companies leading the
decline.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 dipped 0.6% to
23,030.77 by the midday break, off its highest close since Feb.
21 touched in the previous session.
This was despite an overnight rally on Wall Street that took
the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC to a record high and the S&P 500
.SPX in positive territory for the year as expectations for a
swift economic recovery from a coronavirus-driven slump
increased. .N
"As some technical signs suggested the market is overheated,
it's no surprise if we feel top heavy in the short term," said
Takeo Kamai, head of executions services at CLSA in Tokyo.
The broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.4% to 1,623.49 by the
recess, also off its highest closing since Feb. 21, with
three-fourths of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange
trading lower.
In the currency market, the safe-haven yen rebounded from
Friday's 2-1/2-month low versus the U.S. dollar, with the
dollar/yen JPY=EBS trading at 107.915 yen, a level unseen for
a week.
As a firmer yen hurts Japanese manufacturers' profits made
abroad when repatriated, shares of export-oriented automakers
came under pressure, with Nissan Motor 7201.T tumbling 5.5%
and Mazda Motor 7261.T falling 2.7%.
Taking a weak lead from their Wall Street peers .SOX ,
chip-making gear maker Screen Holdings 7735.T slid 3.5%, while
test device maker Advantest 6857.T shed 5.4%.
Bucking the overall market's weakness, Lixil Group 5938.T
added 0.2% after the Nikkei business daily reported that the
bathroom equipment maker plans to sell its majority stake in
Lixil Viva, an operator of home improvement stores, to its
domestic peer, Arcland Sakamoto .
Shares of Lixil Viva 3564.T and Arcland Sakamoto 9842.T
advanced 3.5% and 15.3%, respectively.