Property leads Tokyo pullback

Japanese shares slipped on Friday as investors sold property-related stocks to lock in profits after recent sharp gains.

The benchmark Nikkei average lost 0.3 per cent to close at 16,785.69 and the broader Topix index edged down 0.1 per cent to 1,616.62.

Mitsubishi Estate fell 3 percent to 3,290 after soaring 26 per cent since Sept. 10 amid an apparent softening of the Bank of Japan’s stance on potential interest rate rises. The overall property sub-sector fell 1.4 per cent.

Shares in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japanese partner of Switzerland’s Roche, fell 2.6 per cent to Y1,897 after it said its new anaemia drug, Epogin, required additional clinical testing. Rival drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo rose 4.6 per cent to Y3,450 after the US Food and Drug Administration approved its new blood pressure pill.

Columbia Music jumped 20 per cent to Y96 after it agreed to buy TDK Corp.’s music and video software unit for Y1.5bn in a bid to diversify its business.

Mitsubishi Motors rose 4.8 per cent to Y175 after the carmaker tripled its half-year operating profit forecast to Y15bn on strong sales outside Japan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, also within the Mitsubishi corporate family, gained 1.9 per cent to Y751 on a Nikkei newspaper report that the company would supply equipment to China’s growing nuclear power industry.

Share buy-backs lifted several issues. Canon, which has repurchased $3.9bn of its own stock already this year, rose 2.6 per cent to Y6,270 after an executive told Reuters the company may buy back more shares.