MW: Nikkei falls as resource shares drop, yen rises
By V. Phani Kumar
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese shares ended lower Thursday, giving up early gains as resource stocks retreated and as the yen strengthened a day after it lost heavily against the U.S. dollar. The Nikkei Stock Average finished 0.1% lower at 9,509.50, after jumping 2.3% on Wednesday, when the yen tumbled in reaction to intervention by authorities in the foreign exchange markets. The broader Topix index fell 0.5% to 844.71. Shares of Inpex Corp. (JP:1605 411,500, 0.00, 0.00%) (IPXHF 0.00, 0.00, 0.00%) fell 3.8% and Nippon Steel Corp. (NISTY 34.84, -0.24, -0.68%) (JP:5401 298.00, +3.00, +1.02%) shed 1%. Financial shares also dropped on profit-taking after recent gains, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (JP:8306 417.00, +3.00, +0.72%) (MTU 4.91, -0.07, -1.41%) shrinking 1%. Among exporters, Honda Motor Co. (HMC 34.80, +0.84, +2.47%) (JP:7267 2,944, +112.00, +3.95%) finished 0.5% higher, but off the day's high as the yen advanced. The decline in Tokyo came amid weak Asian markets, with China's Shanghai Composite falling 2.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index losing 0.5%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declining 1.2% and India's Sensex shrinking 0.3%.
