Nikkei falls 1 pct as techs decline, Sanyo down

TOKYO, June 23 (Reuters) The Nikkei slid 1.03 percent on Friday as TDK Corp. and other technology firms were hit by concern the U.S.

Federal Reserve will continue to increase interest rates even as the economy slows, denting demand for Japanese goods.

Shares of Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. were down after mobile phone giant Nokia said on Thursday it had ended talks to form a joint venture with the Japanese electronics maker.

''The big worry right now is monetary policy,'' said Toshihiko Matsuno, an assistant general manager of investment research at SMBC Friend Securities, referring to the possibility of higher U.S.

interest rates.

''Investors here are really paying attention to U.S. interest rates, as that moves Wall Street. So if the U.S. starts to worry, so do we.'' The Nikkei was down 155.44 points at 14,980.25 as of 0001 GMT.

The TOPIX index was down 1.22 percent at 1,530.20.

Electronic components maker TDK, which makes more than 70 percent of its sales abroad, fell 1.5 percent to 8,620 yen.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's most profitable auto maker, dropped 1.2 percent to 5,800 yen.

Sanyo Electric fell 3.2 percent to 243 yen after Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, said it had ended talks to form a joint venture with Sanyo to produce phones using the CDMA standard.

Shares of Sony Corp. fell 1 percent to 4,890 yen, as investors shrugged off bullish comments from the electronics firm's chief executive. The company is on track to hit its target of doubling its operating profit margin by the next business year, Howard Stringer said on Thursday.

REUTERS VJ BST0705