Roundup: Tokyo stocks break 8-day growth with gains locked in, U.S. outlook weighing

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TOKYO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Thursday, breaking the rally for eight consecutive days, as investors locked in gains and sold due to worries over the slowing recovery of the U.S. economy amid the spread of COVID-19 infections related to the Delta variant.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average finished down 173.02 points, or 0.57 percent, from Wednesday at 30,008.19.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended 14.68 points, or 0.71 percent, lower at 2,064.93.

Declining issues were led by machinery, rubber product and air transportation issues.

The drop in shares followed the gain of Nikkei of over 2,500 points, or 9 percent, during the past eight-day uptrend, currently the longest rally this year. Nikkei finished at a record high in nearly six months on Wednesday, stimulating many investors to lock in gains.

"Market players took profits as the Nikkei's recent rally went too fast," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, an equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co.

The depression of sentiment followed the concerns on the U.S. economic outlook as the Federal Reserve's Beige Book revealed on Wednesday the growth of the U.S. economy decreased to a moderate speed from early July through August because of the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

Sensitive to economic fluctuations, Japanese cyclical shares were affected by the Fed's report and saw a slip, as the report indicated a downshift in the U.S. economy, said Maki Sawada, a strategist in Nomura Securities Co.'s investment content department.

In the First Section, decliners outnumbered advancers 1,363 to 706, while 120 finished unchanged.

Among cyclical issues, steelmaker and nonferrous metal issues sank with Nippon Steel off 0.8 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining down 1.2 percent.

Airline and department store operator shares declined after reports of the government's decision to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other metropolitan areas.

ANA Holdings dropped 1.8 percent and J. Front Retailing, the operator of the Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores, slipped 0.9 percent.

Against the downward trend, the electric power and gas sector grew as potential candidates for the presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sept. 29 all delivered a relatively flexible stance on the restart of existing nuclear plants, brokers said.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings jumped 11 percent and Kansai Electric Power gained 5.4 percent.

Trading volume on the main section sank to 1,260.35 million shares from Wednesday's 1,320.22 million shares. Enditem

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