By Chris Oliver
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stock indexes ended the morning session lower Friday, as a modest gain in the yen versus the U.S. dollar prompted selling in tech exporters, drawing back some of the gains seen in the sector during the previous session. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Average fell 0.2% to 10,515.20, and the more inclusive Topix lost 0.3% to 911.41. The dollar was buying 91.41 yen in late morning trade in Tokyo, down from 91.65 at midday in New York. Canon Inc.'s shares (JP:7751 3,950, -70.00, -1.74%) (CAJ 43.84, 0.00, 0.00%) lost 1.7% of their value, while Hitachi Corp. (JP:6501 273.00, -1.00, -0.36%) (HIT 29.84, 0.00, 0.00%) was down 0.4%, and Panasonic Corp. (JP:6752 1,327, -20.00, -1.48%) (PC 14.71, 0.00, 0.00%) fell 1.4%. Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203 3,850, -40.00, -1.03%) (TM 84.91, 0.00, 0.00%) also lost ground, down 0.5%, a day after a Nikkei business news report saying it will recall over 43,000 cars sold in China due to possible oil leaks. Banking stocks were also under pressure, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU 5.10, 0.00, 0.00%) (JP:8306 461.00, -5.00, -1.07%) down 1.1% and Mizuho Financial Group (JP:8411 171.00, -4.00, -2.29%) (MFG 3.77, 0.00, 0.00%) losing 2.3%. Tokyo's stock market was one of the few open for trade Friday, with bourses in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and South Korea, among others, closed for Christmas Day.
