1st LD Writethru: Tokyo shares close mixed on U.S. tax reform expectations, tech share losses

TOKYO, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares closed mixed Tuesday as gains from market expectations on the United States tax reform were offset by falls in technology shares tracking losses in Wall Street overnight.

Shares opened lower Tuesday as export-linked shares were weighed down by the firm yen against the U.S. dollar, while technology shares fell tracking losses of their peers in Wall Street overnight.

Losses were trimmed in the afternoon as market investor sought good bargains on domestic demand-related issues including financials and retailers amid expectations for the progress of the U.S. tax reform.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 84.78 points, or 0.37 percent, from Monday at 22,622.38.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 4.10 points, or 0.23 percent, higher at 1,790.97.

Among all shares listed on the First Section, advancing issues outnumbered decliners 1,055 to 905, with 81 ending the day unchanged.

Decliners were led by precision instrument and electric appliance issues, while gainers were led by marine transportation and securities.

On the main section, 1,477.12 million shares changed hands, rising from Monday's volume of 1,394.43 million shares.

The day's turnover was around 2,689.9 billion yen (23.89 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem