TOKYO, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Thursday as a comparatively firm yen initially dented sentiment, while concerns about domestic corporate earnings reports also weighed on the market mood after some underwhelming results.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 96.70 points, or 0.43 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 22,418.15.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 4.83 points, or 0.31 percent, to finish at 1,549.88.

A comparatively firm yen weighed on exporters in early trade, brokers here said, as concerns continue that profits made overseas will remain hamstrung as the severity of the pandemic dictates demand and supply chain efficacy.

Hopes for additional U.S. stimulus measures to further help underpin its economy were outweighed by downbeat earnings reports from companies here, although some strategists speculated that a bottom had been reached in terms of disappointing earning and forward guidance.

"The earnings from Japan so far have been really bad, but this is the bottom and earnings are not going to get any worse," Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Securities, was quoted as saying.

"Any recovery in earnings, regardless of how gradual it is, will be better than this crop of earnings reports," Hiroki added.

By the close of play the biggest decliners comprised food, land transportation, and electric power and gas-oriented issues.

Issues broadly exposed to overseas markets lost ground on concerns over the yen's recent strength versus its major counterparts, with Sony losing 0.9 percent, while Fujitsu ended 1.0 percent lower.

Those reporting lackluster earnings also weighed, with Honda skidding down 6.3 percent, after announcing a day earlier it expects its net profit for fiscal 2020 to fall 64 percent owing to the pandemic zapping demand for cars.

But Toyota gained 2.3 percent, after its quarterly earnings beat median market expectations for a loss, with Japan's top automaker reporting a 74 percent drop in net profit in the April-June quarter.

"Toyota was bought on views that its earnings are recovering," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., was quoted as saying.

Issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,251 to 852 on the First Section, while 70 ended the day unchanged.

On the main section on Thursday, 1.079 billion shares changed hands, dropping from Wednesday's volume of 1.204 billion shares.

The turnover on the penultimate trading day of the week came to 1.995 trillion yen (18.901 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

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