By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks lost ground Monday, with a stronger yen weighing on major exporter shares, as the Nikkei Stock Average JP:NI225 -0.36% closed 0.4% lower at 9.556.65, and the broader Topix ended with a 0.6% loss at 836.34. The dollar fell below the ¥83 mark during Monday trading, weighing on forex-sensitive stocks. Among the exporters losing ground, Sony Corp. JP:6758 -1.38% SNE 0.00% fell 1.4%, Nintendo Co. JP:7974 +0.44% NTDOF -0.20% dropped 2.1%, Hitachi Ltd. JP:6501 -1.98% HIT -0.14% closed down 2%, and in the auto sector, Nissan Motor Co. JP:7201 -1.11% NSANY -0.12% suffered a 1.1% drop, although Toyota Motor Corp. JP:7203 -0.46% TM -0.31% fell a milder 0.5%. Financials were also among the top decliners, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. JP:8306 -2.56% MTU -1.05% plunging 2.6%, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. JP:8411 -1.55% MFG -2.18% dropping 1.6%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. JP:8316 -2.03% SMFG -2.12% down 2%.
