Tokyo stocks close lower on lack of fresh cues, lackluster Christmas mood

Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday as a lack of fresh trading cues contributed to a lackluster mood compounded by market players being away and some major global bourses being closed for the Christmas holidays.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average drooped 20.63 points, or 0.11 percent, from Thursday to end at 8,769.06, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished the day 7.43 points, or 0.49 percent, lower at 1,516.19.

Among notable decliners were utilities, iron and steel and mining-linked shares.

The turnover on the last trading day of the week was 1,604.9 billion yen (13.36 billion U.S. dollars).