LEAD: Japanese shares down on profit-taking

Feb 10, 2012, 6:45 GMT

Tokyo - Japanese stocks fell Friday despite a weaker yen as investors sold shares to lock in immediate profits after recent gains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 55.07 points, or 0.61 per cent, to end at 8,947.17 while the broader Topix index was down 5.42 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 779.07.

For the week, the Nikkei rose 1.3 per cent and the Topix was up 2.4 per cent.

Toyota Motor Corp closed down 2.24 per cent Friday although its stock has risen 2.5 per cent since it raised a net profit outlook Tuesday for the current financial year, which ends March 31, to 200 billion yen (2.6 billion dollars) from 180 billion yen it had predicted two months ago.

Sony Corp fell 0.52 per cent but rallied 7 per cent for the week.

On currency markets at 3 pm (0600GMT), the dollar traded at 77.62-63 yen, up from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 77.22-23 yen.

The euro was quoted at 102.94-96 yen, up from 102.56-60 yen late Thursday, and at 1.3260-3261 dollars, down from 1.3281-3283 dollars.