Tokyo stocks ended lower Wednesday on the selling of technology shares, while investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. economic data to be released later this week.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 387.06 points, or 0.97 percent, from Tuesday at 39,451.85. The broader Topix index finished 7.94 points, or 0.29 percent, lower at 2,706.51.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by precision instrument, iron and steel, and electric appliance issues.
The U.S. dollar moved little in the upper 151 yen range on a wait-and-see attitude ahead of U.S. employment data to be released later in the week, dealers said.
Equities were mostly lower throughout the day, as technology shares weighed the markets down following a sharp overnight fall on a key U.S. semiconductor index, while weak U.S. stock futures also dented sentiment.
"Stocks reacted straightforwardly to the U.S. markets as chip-related issues were heavily sold, although some investors bought on dips as the Nikkei index at one point dropped to around the 39,200 mark," said Shingo Ide, chief equity strategist at the NLI Research Institute.
The benchmark briefly sank over 600 points in the morning on concerns regarding an earthquake that struck off Taiwan shortly before the market opened, resulting in small tsunami reaching nearby islands in Japan's southwest, analysts said.
