Nikkei turns negative on futures selling

TOKYO, June 2 (Reuters) The Nikkei slipped into negative territory on Friday, reversing early gains as selling of futures outweighed a rise in Sony Corp. and other techs after advances in similar U.S. stocks.

Shares of Sumitomo Warehouse Co. Ltd. and other firms with stakes held by a fund run by shareholder activist Yoshiaki Murakami fell following reports that prosecutors were investigating the fund for violation of securities laws.

''After gains in New York, we started the morning off strong, with techs leading and it looked like we might finish in positive territory. But selling of Nikkei futures had helped drag the index down,'' said Tatsuyuki Kawasaki, director of equities trading division at Kaneyama Securities.

Dealers were selling Nikkei futures to close out their long positions before the end of the week, he added.

The Nikkei was down 169.43 points at 15,334.31 as of 0129 GMT. Earlier it rose as high at 15,651.60. The broader TOPIX index was down 1.47 percent at 1,561.34.

In Osaka, Nikkei futures were down 0.9 percent at 15,360.

Sony was up 2.2 percent at 5,090 yen.

Shares of Sumitomo Warehouse slid 11.3 percent to 705 yen after media reports on Friday of the investigation into the fund.

REUTERS PDS VP0725