TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday after major electronics maker Sony posted poor quarterly earnings. The dollar was higher against the yen.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 60.48 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 11,798.08. On Thursday, the average closed down 33.05 points, or 0.28 percent.
The dollar bought 123.74 yen at 3 p.m. (2 a.m. EDT) Friday, up 0.50 yen from late Thursday in Tokyo but lower than its late New York level of 123.78 yen overnight.
On the stock market, the Nikkei index was slightly higher early in the session following an overnight advance on Wall Street.
But the Nikkei later reversed course with selling led by technology issues, including Sony.
The Japanese consumer-electronics giant said on Thursday its group operating profit for the first quarter tumbled 90 percent on a slump in its electronics, video-game and movie businesses.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 49.96 points to 10,455.63 at Thursday’s close. The Nasdaq composite index closed at 2,022.96, up 38.64.
The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section fell 8.02 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 1,184.23 Friday. The TOPIX closed up 3.14 points, or 0.26 percent, the day before.
In currency dealings, the dollar remained steady against the yen after U.S. economic data released Thursday, including the closely watched employment cost index, were in line with expectations.
In other currencies, the euro was traded at 108.72 yen, up from 108.58 yen late Thursday in Tokyo.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond fell to 1.3150 percent from Thursday’s finish of 1.3350 percent. Its price rose 0.18 point to 100.74.
