TOKYO: Tokyo stocks eased 0.13 percent Monday morning as investors continued to lock in profits after a recent string of gains to 15-year highs.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which closed slightly down on Friday after hitting 20,000 for the first time since 2000, slipped 25.21 points to 19,882.42 by the break.
The Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.38 percent, or 5.97 points, at 1,583.57.
“Pressure is strong after (the Nikkei) topped the major level of 20,000,” Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
Profit taking sent stocks lower but heavy-weighted Fast Retailing and SoftBank helped prop up the Nikkei, it said.
SoftBank rose 2.09 percent to 7,362.0 yen on speculation that Indian e-commerce company Snapdeal is preparing for a US listing. The Japanese provider of mobile and Internet services is the biggest shareholder in the firm after investing $627 million in it last year.
Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo fashion brand, gained 0.68 percent to 50,040.0 yen.
Automakers were down, with Toyota falling 1.16 percent to 8,229.0 yen and Honda tumbling 2.38 percent to 4,072.0 yen.
The dollar was at 120.35 yen Monday after trading at 120.30 yen in New York late Friday.
