Japan's Nikkei average closed lower for the first time in four sessions on Thursday after results from Yahoo Inc failed to beat Wall Street estimates, fanning concern a tech-led rally had gone too far.
"It's hard to deny there's been a mini-bubble in the tech sector in both the U.S. and Japan, and the Yahoo results have ignited a round of selling on some of these overbought issues," said Norihiro Fujito, a strategist at Mitsubishi Securities.
The Nikkei closed down 0.35 percent at 9,955.62 after drifting around the psychologically important 10,000 mark for most of the session. Two days ago it topped that level for the first time since August.
Tokyo's broader TOPIX index ended down 0.54 percent at 974.14.
Gains in defensive issues such as Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Japan's third biggest drug maker, helped stem the Nikkei's fall.
Yamanouchi, a favorite among foreign investors and one of the many Japanese blue chips forecasting record profits for 2003/04, ended up 5.18 percent at 3,450 yen and earlier touched a 14-month high of 3,500.
In contrast, Internet investor Softbank Corp, the most active issue by value, tumbled 10.47 percent to 3,250 yen, coming back to earth after its shares had more than doubled in an 11-day winning streak until Wednesday.
Softbank's fall came after shares in IT bellwether Yahoo tumbled in after-the-bell trading in the U.S. The company posted a quarterly profit that doubled the previous year's but failed to beat Wall Street estimates.
"Tech stocks like NEC and Fujitsu have certainly overshot fair value and investors are now hunting for cheap stocks with lower price to earnings ratios in sectors like autos and pharmaceuticals," Fujito said.
Tech conglomerate Fujitsu Ltd lost 6.7 percent to 585 yen after a strong rally from its April low of 300 yen on hopes for a rebound in the telecom equipment and chip sectors.
NEC Corp lost 1.98 percent to 793 yen.
Volume remained strong, with 1.64 billion shares changing hands, compared with 1.44 billion on Wednesday. It was the 31st straight session with volume of over one billion shares.
"It's hard to deny there's been a mini-bubble in the tech sector in both the U.S. and Japan, and the Yahoo results have ignited a round of selling on some of these overbought issues," said Norihiro Fujito, a strategist at Mitsubishi Securities.
The Nikkei closed down 0.35 percent at 9,955.62 after drifting around the psychologically important 10,000 mark for most of the session. Two days ago it topped that level for the first time since August.
Tokyo's broader TOPIX index ended down 0.54 percent at 974.14.
Gains in defensive issues such as Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Japan's third biggest drug maker, helped stem the Nikkei's fall.
Yamanouchi, a favorite among foreign investors and one of the many Japanese blue chips forecasting record profits for 2003/04, ended up 5.18 percent at 3,450 yen and earlier touched a 14-month high of 3,500.
In contrast, Internet investor Softbank Corp, the most active issue by value, tumbled 10.47 percent to 3,250 yen, coming back to earth after its shares had more than doubled in an 11-day winning streak until Wednesday.
Softbank's fall came after shares in IT bellwether Yahoo tumbled in after-the-bell trading in the U.S. The company posted a quarterly profit that doubled the previous year's but failed to beat Wall Street estimates.
"Tech stocks like NEC and Fujitsu have certainly overshot fair value and investors are now hunting for cheap stocks with lower price to earnings ratios in sectors like autos and pharmaceuticals," Fujito said.
Tech conglomerate Fujitsu Ltd lost 6.7 percent to 585 yen after a strong rally from its April low of 300 yen on hopes for a rebound in the telecom equipment and chip sectors.
NEC Corp lost 1.98 percent to 793 yen.
Volume remained strong, with 1.64 billion shares changing hands, compared with 1.44 billion on Wednesday. It was the 31st straight session with volume of over one billion shares.
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