Tokyo stocks fell Tuesday, with the Nikkei snapping a six-day winning streak, as investors sought to lock in gains after the Japanese market surged to highs not seen since early 1990.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 282.61 points, or 0.79 percent, from Monday at 35,619.18. The broader Topix index finished 20.62 points, or 0.82 percent, lower at 2,503.98.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by textile and apparel, warehousing and harbor transportation service, and farm and fishery issues.
The U.S. dollar strengthened to the lower 146 yen range in Tokyo as the U.S. currency was bought on receding expectations that the Federal Reserve could move to cut interest rates as soon as March.
Stocks were sold as concerns grew that the market is overheated after the Nikkei climbed around 2,600 points and repeatedly hit new 34-year highs during a six-day rally, analysts said.
A decline in futures on the U.S. tech-heavy Nasdaq index in the afternoon also prompted selling of heavyweight stocks, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Tokyo Electron, analysts said.
"The prospects of declines in the United States tonight encouraged investors to lock in recent gains," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co.
But losses were limited, with confidence in Japanese equities supported by a further weakening of the yen against the dollar, analysts said. A weaker yen boosts exporters' overseas profits when repatriated.
Meanwhile, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and other shipping firms drew buying on rising shipping rates driven by heightened tensions in the Red Sea after U.S. and British forces began engaging with Yemen's pro-Iranian Houthi rebels over their assaults on some commercial ships.
