Tokyo stocks end lower on profit-taking

Tokyo stocks closed lower Thursday as investors opted to lock in profits following the market's recent gains and in the face of corporate earnings here that have failed to impress.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 55.42 points, or 0.32 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 17,336.42.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, shed 0.69 points, or 0.05 percent, to finish at 1,382.01.

Notable issues that lost ground by the close of play Thursday comprised marine transportation, air transportation and precision instrument-linked stocks, and on the First Section declining issues outpaced advancing ones by 927 to 909.

Trading volume on the main section increased to 1.7 billion shares, up from Wednesday's volume of 1.5 billion.

The day's turnover, meanwhile, was 1,944.9 billion yen (18.58 billion U.S. dollars). Endit