TOKYO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The Nikkei stock index edged down 0. 14 percent Thursday as investors opted to lock in gains following the market's recent rise. After an initial round of buying prompted by strong closes overnight on Wall Street, investors hit the sidelines ahead of key U.S. jobs data. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 21.68 points to finish at 15,348.29, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares dropped 2.19 points, 0.17 percent, to close at 1,278.59. Local traders said that the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index both closing at fresh record highs overnight, lifted investor sentiment here, but buying ran its course as investors looked to square away positions ahead of the weekend amid a lack of positive cues and wait to see what happens with the U.S. jobs report. Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management, noted that investors were a little apprehensive about the upcoming U.S. non farm payrolls data, more so in light of the fact that the private-sector ADP data were really good. Okumura was referring to the latest ADP non farm payrolls report, which showed that the U.S. private sector added 281,000 jobs last month, far more than median economists forecasts for an increase of 200,000 and marking the highest increase since November 2012. "The upbeat data eased concerns over the outlook for the U.S. recovery," said one local equities strategist. "There were concerns last week as data showed a sharp economic contraction in the first quarter, pushing many to think the Fed would maintain its interest rates. But such fears have been alleviated for now," he added. Exporters traded down despite the U.S. dollar's increase to 101.87 yen this afternoon in Tokyo, from 101.77 yen logged in New York Wednesday afternoon and Toyota, the world's largest automaker, skidded down 0.7 percent to 6,168 yen, while Honda Motor Co. slid 0.6 percent to finish at 3,535 yen. Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. retreated 1.5 percent to 1,696 yen and Canon, the world's largest camera maker, dropped 0. 60 percent at 3,301 yen. But Toshiba closed the day in positive territory, leaping 2.5 percent to 484 yen, following reports saying its U.S. Westinghouse unit is closing in on a deal to build a nuclear reactor in Bulgaria worth around 5 billion U.S. dollars. Component maker Mitsumi Electric was another notable gainer Thursday, jumping 5.5 percent to 785 yen, following Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the firm's stock to "neutral" from "sell." Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank gained 0.18 percent to close at 7, 640 yen, after the mobile phone and communications service provider said it plans to raise around 15 billion U.S. dollars through a new bond issuance and acquisitions over the next two years, including buying Sprint Nextel for 21.6 billion U.S. dollars. Insurance firm Dai-Ichi Life lost ground however, relinquishing 2.27 percent to 1,502 yen, on dilution concerns after the Nikkei economic daily said the firm plans to raise around 2.5 billion U.S. dollars through a new stock offering so it can buy U.S. insurer Protective Life Corp. Trading volume on Thursday dropped to 1.93 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from Wednesday's volume of 2.29 billion shares, with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones by 954 to 705.

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