Japanese shares fall on profit-taking

Feb 9, 2012, 2:59 GMT

Tokyo - Japanese stocks fell Thursday morning as investors sold shares to lock in immediate profits after recent gains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 50.18 points, or 0.56 per cent, to trade at 8,965.41 at the end of the morning session at 11:30 am (0230 GMT). The Nikkei jumped 1.1 per cent Wednesday.

The broader Topix index was down 2.21 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 780.13.

Japan's key machinery orders dropped a seasonally adjusted 7.1 per cent in December from the previous month to 733.2 billion yen (9.52 billion dollars), the government said Thursday.

The decrease, which exceeded the prediction of a 4.7-per-cent fall by the business daily Nikkei, followed a 14.8-per-cent rise in November.

On currency markets at 11:30 am, the dollar traded at 77.16-18 yen, up from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 77.06-07 yen.

The euro was quoted at 102.27-30 yen, little changed from 102.24-28 yen late Wednesday, and at 1.3254-3256 dollars, down from 1.3268-3269 dollars.