By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
dipped on Friday as investors took profits, especially in large
caps, and awaited more clarity on a U.S.-China trade deal
announced last week.
The Nikkei share average .N225 fell 0.20% to 23,816.63,
while the broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.18% to 1,733.07, with the
Topix core 30 of the biggest firms falling 0.56%. For the week,
the Nikkei fell about 0.9% after three weeks of gains.
Investors chose to book profits ahead of the year-end
holiday after Japanese shares hit a 14-month high earlier this
week on news of the tentative trade deal being finalised between
Washington and Beijing.
Still, with a generally optimistic mood in the market
underpinning many small caps, advancers outnumbered decliners by
a ratio of about 5 to 4. Turnover jumped to 2.3 trillion yen in
the main board, about 10% above the long-term average.
"We expect the market to continue to rally next year as we
expect corporate sales to pick up," said Hiroshi Watanabe, an
economist at Sony Financial Holdings.
"So far, the Nikkei's rally has been driven by a rise in
multiples. Next year, it will be led more by earnings growth."
SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T , which has surged over 10% in
the past month, gave up 0.6%.
Sony Corp 6758.T , one of the strongest performers over the
past month, dropped 1.7%.
Among big technology names, robot maker Fanuc 6954.T lost
2.2%, while Keyence 6861.T shed 0.6%.
Carmakers were hit by the dollar's retreat overnight from a
near six-month high against the yen JPY= . Toyota Motor Corp
7203.T and Nissan Motor 7201.T shed 1.1% each, while Suzuki
Motor Corp 7269.T and Mazda Motor Corp 7261.T both dropped
0.8%.
Nuflare Technology Inc 6256.T dropped 9.0% after Toshiba
Corp 6502.T said it had no intention of accepting Hoya Corp's
7741.T sweeter bid for Nuflare or raising its own bid.
Toshiba and Hoya have been competing for the ownership of
Nuflare, which is currently owned 52.4% by Toshiba. Toshiba dropped 0.1%, while Hoya ended up 0.1%.
Homebuilder Hosoda Corp 1906.T soared 17.1% after
condominium builder Haseko Corp 1808.T announced a tender
offer on Hosoda. Haseko ended flat.