Tokyo stocks ended lower Monday, as investors largely adopted a wait-and-see stance before the release of earnings reports by major Japanese companies, as well as key U.S. inflation data, later this week.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 49.65 points, or 0.13 percent, from Friday at 38,179.46. The broader Topix index finished 4.13 points, or 0.15 percent, lower at 2,724.08.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by real estate, construction, and farm and fishery shares.
The U.S. dollar remained firm in the upper 155 yen range in Tokyo, as traders bought the currency on prospects of a wider interest rate differential between Japan and the United States after long-term U.S. Treasury yields rose last week.
Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond yield briefly rose 0.035 percentage point from Friday's close to 0.940 percent, its highest level since last November, as the debt was sold after the Bank of Japan reduced its purchase of Japanese government bonds in its regular operation on Monday from the previous time.
Bond yields move inversely to prices.
On the stock market, trading remained sluggish throughout the day.
"There are quite a few companies whose outlook investors speculate won't meet market expectations. So there's definitely a sense of caution regarding earnings," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co.
The market was also weighed down by rising long-term interest rates in Japan, as higher bond yields raise borrowing costs for companies, Miura added.
Bucking the downward trend, Nikkei heavyweight Softbank Group drew buying before announcing its fiscal 2023 results later in the day, helped by high expectations for its expansion into semiconductor development for artificial intelligence, analysts said.
