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Japan's Nikkei falls 0.6 pct, Kyocera leads losses

Sun Jun 1, 2008 9:26pm EDT

Stocks

   

(Updates to midmorning)

Stocks  |  Global Markets

TOKYO, June 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.6 percent on Monday, led down by high-tech maker Kyocera Corp (6971.T), with investors locking in sharp gains made late last week.

Financials were mixed, with Japan's largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) up 0.5 percent.

"Profit-taking is naturally following the market's strong rise last week," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.

Hirano added that the market's upward moves are likely to be more muted as the strong money flow into equities from other assets has likely run its course.

"Before March 17, equities had been the only loser in comparision with commodities and bonds, but then money started flowing into equities," he said. But these flows since last week are now more spread out among equities, commodities, forex and bonds, he said.

The Nikkei had gained 21.6 percent to the end of Friday from March 17, when the index hit the year's low.

As of 0048 GMT, the benchmark Nikkei average .N225 was down 91.53 points at 14,247.01. The broader Topix index lost 0.5 percent to 1,400.77.

Kyocera fell 2 percent to 9,960 yen, the top drag on the Nikkei. Mitsubishi UFJ rose to 1,083 yen.

Sony Corp (6758.T) rose 1.1 percent to 5,340 yen after Goldman Sachs added the company's stock to its conviction buy list, upgraded its rating to "buy" from "neutral".

Goldman Sachs analyst Yuji Fujimori wrote in a report dated May 30 that Sony's earnings risk has subsided as the yen's rise versus the dollar has stalled. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)



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