TOKYO, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed slightly lower Thursday due to weak high-tech shares, following the overnight drop on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, while losses were limited as some investors hunted bargains after the market's decline a day earlier.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average finished down 91.63 points, or 0.31 percent, from Wednesday at 29,452.66.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended 8.13 points, or 0.40 percent, lower at 2,030.16.
Declining issues were led by marine transportation, warehousing and harbor transportation equipment, and iron and steel issues.
Tokyo stocks were mostly in negative territory, following losses in U.S. technology issues and worries about the Chinese economic prospects.
However, the market acquired stimulation from former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida winning in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election Wednesday as well as bargain-hunting after the Nikkei index tumbled over 600 points the previous day.
"After the LDP presidential election which had garnered much attention passed without surprises and ended within the market consensus, investors turned to focus on external factors from China and the United States," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co.
There were concerns about whether the U.S. government could avoid a shutdown in the event where a funding agreement failed to be reached before the deadline later in the day, as well as its potential impacts on the market, he added.
At the same time, land transportation issues were supported by expectations of higher demand and increased activity before the end of Japan's COVID-19 state of emergency on Thursday, Miura said.
East Japan Railway increased 4.1 percent, and Keisei Electric Railway rose 2.1 percent.
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings went up 2.8 percent, following reports that its group pharmaceutical company is planning to apply for permission of its plant-based COVID-19 vaccine by spring.
Selling in chip-related issues heavily dragged down the market throughout the day, tracking a downward streak for four days in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index.
Advantest declined 1.8 percent, Screen Holdings decreased 1.6 percent, and Tokyo Electron sank 2.6 percent.
On the First Section, decliners outnumbered advancers 1,298 to 789, while 87 finished unchanged.
Trading volume on the main section dropped to 1,551.25 million shares from Wednesday's 1,602.59 million shares. Enditem