Nikkei down 0.63 pct as Fast Retailing, TDK fall

TOKYO, Sep 15 (Reuters) The Nikkei average fell 0.63 percent by midday on Friday, poised to snap a two-day winning streak after a fall on Wall Street led to selling of core issues such as Fast Retailing Co. and TDK Corp.

Mitsubishi Corp. and other trading houses also came under pressure due to a fall in commodities prices, while online community site Mixi Inc. was trading about 77 percent above its IPO price but below its final bid level on Thursday when it made its debut on the Mothers market for start-up firms.

Investors were wary of holding long positions ahead of Japan's three-day weekend and before the release of U.S. consumer price data for August later in the day that will offer a clue to the strength of inflation in a key market for Japanese goods.

''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.

The Nikkei closed the morning session down 100.16 points at 15,842.23, retreating after a 1.4 percent gain in the past two sessions. The broader TOPIX index was 0.43 percent lower at 1,591.19.

Japanese financial markets will be closed on Monday for a national holiday. Trade volume slowed with 612 million shares changing hands, the lowest since Aug.29. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a ratio of nearly two to one.

Fast Retailing, which operates the Uniqlo chain of casual clothing stores, was down 1.5 percent at 10,520 yen while electronics parts maker TDK lost 1.9 percent to 9,000 yen and Sony Corp. gave up 1.4 percent to 4,940 yen.

Mitsubishi, Japan's largest trading house, shed 2.92 percent to 2,160 yen while rival Itochu Corp. fell 3.0 percent to 873 yen, having now lost about 11 percent since the start of this month amid a tumble in oil and metals prices.

Shares of Mixi, Japan's second-most visited site after Yahoo Japan Corp., last traded at 2.75 million yen, 13 percent below the final 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.

Mixi is seen as a barometer of sentiment on start-up stocks, which have been battered since mid-January when allegations of securities violations involving Web portal Livedoor Co. surfaced.

The Mothers market is down some 50 percent since then.

Software developer Access Co. rose 1.65 percent to 739,000 yen.

Access had lost 10 percent in the past week, tumbling with other stocks listed on Mothers as investors made room in their portfolio for Mixi.

REUTERS MQA PM1010