Japan Shares Closed Lower on Profit-Taking Sales

Japanese stocks fell at the close on Monday, due to concern over the upcoming corporate business results reports, prompting investors to reap profits and leading the decline in the selective industrial and consumer sectors.

The Nikkei index fell 0.26% to 23,558.69 points, while the broader TOPIX index lost 0.2% to 1643.35 points.

Yaskawa Electric Corp. posted the biggest drop on Nikkei, losing 5.43% after the maker of industrial robots said on Friday it expected to cut dividends by nearly half.

Analysts said that the news affected sentiment in general, as investors are reluctant to buy shares due to the uncertainty surrounding the US presidential elections that will take place on the third of next month and its impact on economic policy.

The second biggest loser on the Nikkei was JGC Holdings Corp, losing 4.27%, followed by Citizen Watch, which gained 3.94%.

Medical services provider M3 topped the list of percentage gainers on the index, up by 2.91%, followed by airline ANA Holdings, which rose 2.65%, and SoftBank Direct Investment Group, which rose 2.64%.

59 stocks advanced on the Nikkei, against a decline of 162.