TOKYO, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks ended lower Monday largely due to accumulating worries over the increasing number of COVID-19 infections amid the country's shortage of vaccines.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average decreased 185.09 points, or 0.64 percent, from Friday to finish at 28,598.19.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended the day at 1,948.99, 7.32 points or 0.37 percent lower.
Tokyo shares lost ground throughout the day, as market players sold in blue chips such as SoftBank Group and Fast Retailing.
"The U.S. jobs data showed steady, positive economic recovery, but the Japanese market was top-heavy as investors remained concerned about the rise in COVID-19 infections in the country," said Masashi Samizo, senior market analyst at SMBC Trust Bank.
As Tokyo and its surrounding areas saw a resurgence of infections, brokers maintained a vigilant attitude with rising concerns over another possible state of emergency to be imposed.
The investors also struggled with a lack of new information as the U.S. markets are closed for a national holiday on Monday, according to analysts.
According to Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a smaller-than-expected number of seats in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election the previous day, the market players were wary of the party's prospects in the general election slated for the fall.
On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones 1,346 to 749, while 97 finished the day unchanged.
Declining issues were led by iron and steel, information and communication, and pulp and paper issues.
Iron and steel issues were among the largest decliners, with Osaka Steel shedding 1.0 percent, Kobe Steel decreasing 3.0 percent and JFE Holdings dropping 4.0 percent.
Trading volume on the main section decreased to 774.29 million shares from Friday's 904.55 million shares. Enditem
