TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is modestly lower in choppy trading on Monday after alternating across the unchanged line, reversing some of the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from European markets and lack of cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 falling below the 69,600 level, with weakness in technology stocks partially offset gains in automaker and exporter stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 146.35 points or 0.21 percent at 69,597.72, after touching a high of 70,384.59 and a low of 69,291.79 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is slipping more than 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is advancing more than 3 percent and Toyota is gaining more than 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.1 percent, Screen Holdings is tumbling almost 6 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing almost 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are adding almost 1 percent each.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Panasonic is up almost 1 percent. Sony is losing almost 1 percent.
Among the other major losers, Taiyo Yuden is tumbling almost 7 percent, while Socionext, Minebea Mitsumi and Murata Manufacturing are sliding almost 5 percent each. Ibiden is slipping almost 4 percent, TDK is declining more than 3 percent and SHIFT is losing almost 6 percent.
Conversely, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is jumping almost 8 percent, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is soaring almost 6 percent and Japan Steel Works is surging more than 5 percent, while IHI and Taisei are advancing almost 5 percent each. Keisei Electric Railway and Hitachi are advancing almost 4 percent each, while Mazda Motor, JFE Holdings, NSK, Shimizu and CyberAgent are gaining more than 3 percent each. Obayashi and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are adding almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 161 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, the markets were closed for Independence Day on Friday after closing higher on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the major European markets saw modest gains thanks to easing Middle East tensions. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.25 percent, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 moved up 0.78 percent and 0.39 percent, respectively.
Crude Oil prices held steady on Friday but headed for their fourth straight weekly loss on eased concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery edged up 0.2 percent to $68.84 per barrel.
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