Tokyo's Nikkei down 0.8 pct as Nissan tumbles

Tokyo, Feb 5: Tokyo's Nikkei share average was down 0.8 percent on Monday morning, poised to fall for the first time in three sessions, as investors sold automakers after a disappointing profit report from Nissan Motor Co.

The market was due to correct after hitting a 10-month closing high in the previous session, especially since corporate earnings have not been as strong as expected, one market participant said.

''Corporate earnings outlooks have not been all that strong,'' said Tatsuyuki Kawasaki, director of equities trading at Kaneyama Securities. ''Foreign investors seem to have started taking profits and domestic institutions also see it as a good place to sell.'' As of 0054 GMT, the Nikkei was down 138.22 points at 17,408.89 after climbing about 1 percent in the prior two sessions. The broader TOPIX index lost 0.96 percent to 1,725.64.

Shares of Nissan Motor Co. were lower untraded with a glut of sell orders at 1,459 yen, down 3.3 percent, after the automaker on Friday reported a 23 percent slide in quarterly net profit and slashed its full-year forecasts.

Other automakers were also sold, with Toyota Motor Corp. down 1.4 percent at 7,840 yen and Honda Motor Co. losing 2.3 percent to 4,590 yen.

Selling was not limited to auto shares.

Digital camera and copier giant Canon Inc. lost 1.9 percent to 6,180 yen, drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. fell 1.6 percent to 7,870 yen, and advertising firm Dentsu Inc. slipped 1.65 percent to 357,000 yen.

Among gainers, Fast Retailing Co. rose 1 percent to 9,690 yen after announcing an 8.9 percent rise in same-store sales for January while Showa Denko KK gained 3.3 percent to 471 yen after the Nikkei newspaper reported it would start production of organic electroluminescent panels for flat TVs.

Reuters