TOKYO: Japanese stocks downshifted in early Friday trades, with a solid drop for Wall Street, a flat yen and general caution ahead of the May U.S. jobs report due later in the day all translated into a 0.4% loss for the Nikkei Average NIK, -0.39% and a 0.6% pullback for the Topix I0000, -0.61% The yen was only marginally lower, with the dollar USDJPY, +0.09% at ¥124.49, up from ¥124.37 late Thursday. Many of the biggest names were in retreat, tracking the broader market move, with Toyota Motor Corp. 7203, -0.90% TM, -0.43% and Nissan Motor Co. 7201, -0.98% NSANY, -0.12% down 0.8% each, Sony Corp. 6758, -1.14% SNE, -1.35% down 1.4%, Panasonic Corp. 6752, -1.65% PCRFF, -1.59% down 1.2%, and Hitachi Ltd. 6501, -1.53% HTHIF, +0.00% down 1.1%, though heavily weighted Fast Retailing Co. 9983, +0.10% FRCOF, -1.45% sat flat. Stock in tire maker Sumitomo Rubber Industries Co. 5110, -2.71% dropped 2.2% after news that its decade-and-a-half alliance with larger U.S. peer Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. GT, -2.18% was over, though Sumitomo will retain rights to sell Goodyear’s Dunlop-brand tires in the Japanese market and will receive a $271 million payment from the Ohio-based company. Bucking the downtrend, Kirin Holdings Co. 2503, +0.60% KNBWY, -0.14% rose 0.5%, and Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. 2587, +0.99% added 0.2%, as a Nikkei news report said the two were increasing their whiskey production as global demand rises. Rival beverage majors Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. 2502, +2.23% ASBRF, -6.32% and Sapporo Holdings Ltd. 2501, +1.07% outperformed Kirin and Suntory, however, advancing 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively.
