Nikkei Down On Profit-Taking, Futures-Led Selling

TOKYO (NQN)--Tokyo stocks retreated Thursday morning, as the overnight slide on Wall Street prompted investors to capitalize on the Tokyo market's bullish momentum the previous day.

The Nikkei Stock Average ended the morning session down 92 points, or 0.80%, from Wednesday's close at 11,376.28. The index briefly shed more than 100 points, weighed down by sluggish futures trading.

Investors moved to lock in gains, as the key index closed at its highest point in more than four years the previous day. Decliners were led by Komatsu Ltd. (6301) and other economy-sensitive issues, as well as such heavily weighted components as Fast Retailing Co. (9983) and Fanuc Corp. (6954).

But the index showed some resilience at around 11,442 in mid-morning trade, paring its losses to 26 points at one time, supported by strong performances of domestic-demand issues.

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