Nikkei down 0.6% as blue chips, metal stocks fall

TOKYO, Sep 15 (Reuters) The Nikkei average was down 0.57 percent on Friday, poised to snap a two-day winning streak after weakness on Wall Street prompted investors to sell Sony Corp. and other blue-chip shares.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. and other nonferrous metal firms also came under pressure after gold and copper prices fell while online community site Mixi Inc. first traded below its final bid level on Thursday when it made its market debut.

Investors were wary of holding long positions ahead of Japan's three-day weekend and before the U.S. government releases the consumer price index for August later in the day, offering a clue on inflation in a key market for Japanese goods.

The Japan market will be closed on Monday for a national holiday.

''Investors are generally sitting on the sidelines given the weak performance in New York and the long weekend ahead,'' said Hiroaki Kuramochi, managing director at Bear Stearns.

As of 0055 GMT, the Nikkei was down 90.11 points at 15,852.28, retreating after a 1.4 percent gain in the past two sessions. The broader TOPIX index was 0.50 percent lower at 1,590.18.

Among blue-chip issues, electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony fell 1.6 percent to 4,930 yen, automaker Honda Motor Co. dropped 1 percent to 3,820 yen and telecoms operator KDDI Corp. gave up 1.1 percent to 733,000 yen.

Sumitomo Metal, Japan's top gold producer, shed 1.7 percent to 1,520 yen while copper smelter Mitsubishi Materials Corp. fell 1.51 percent to 458 yen, having now lost 10 percent since the start of the month amid a tumble in copper prices.

Shares of Mixi, Japan's second most visited site after Yahoo Japan Corp., were trading at 2.64 million yen, 70 percent above the IPO price but below the last bid level of 3.15 million yen on Thursday when a glut of buy orders prevented any trade.

Mixi, which operates the nation's largest social network site used by 5.7 million people to chat, post blogs and create message boards to communicate with people who share similar interests, first traded at 2.95 million yen.

REUTERS VJ VP0720