Tokyo shares end lower on profit-taking

Tokyo shares ended sharply lower Tuesday as investors sought to take profits ahead of the release of key economic data later this week.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average plunged 204.41 points, or 1. 05 percent, from Monday at 19,206.99.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 14.66 points, or 0.94 percent, at 1, 543.11.

The turnover was about 2,938.2 billion yen (about 24.46 billion U.S. dollars). Endi