At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 121.07 points, or 0.42%, to 28,743.25. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange decreased 2.60 points, or 0.14%, to 1,893.58.
Shares of clothing store operator Fast Retailing, chipmaking gear-maker Tokyo Electron and some other heavyweight Nikkei components came under heavy profit-taking pressure. Glasses retailer Jins fell 3.2% despite its bullish sales in February.
On the other hand, oil name Inpex rose for the fourth consecutive session, thanks to higher crude oil prices. Takeda climbed 3.9%, after the drugmaker applied for Japanese health ministry approval for U.S. partner Moderna Inc.'s novel coronavirus vaccine.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan Posts Current Account Surplus Of Y646.8 Billion In January- Japan posted a current account surplus of 646.8 billion yen in January, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday, down 2.3% on year, following the 1,165.6 billion yen surplus in December. The trade balance showed a deficit of 130.1 billion yen, down 86.9% on year after showing a surplus of 127.48 billion yen in the previous month. Exports were up 2.7% on year at 5,691.6 billion yen after adding 0.3% to 6,561.5 billion yen in December. Imports dropped an annual 10.9% to 5,821.7 billion yen after sinking 13.5% to 5,596.4 billion yen in the previous month.
CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar stayed firm around the mid-108 yen zone, after hitting a nine-month high of 108.64 yen in New York late last week on strong employment data. The dollar fetched 108.50-51 yen late afternoon today compared with 108.35-45 yen in New York and 108.26-27 yen in Tokyo on Friday.
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