Japan shares fall

Japanese stocks declined Friday morning as investors sold shares to lock in quick profits after a four-day streak of gains, according to dpa. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 53.26 points, or 0.59 per cent, to trade at 8,925.34 at the end of the morning session at 11:30 am (0230 GMT). The broader-based Topix index was down 2.86 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 748.98. Shares in Olympus Corp plunged 3.14 per cent after the scandal-hit company said Thursday that its net loss more than tripled in the April-to-June quarter from a year earlier to 4.46 billion yen (56.8 million dollars) because of the yen's strength and its loss-making camera business. Olympus has been shaken by the revelation of a cover-up of massive investment losses. Exporters traded broadly lower. Shares in Ricoh Co dropped 1.59 per cent, Advantest Corp shed 1.2 per cent, Canon Inc declined 0.99 per cent, Honda Motor Co lost 1.52 per cent and Toyota Motor Corp was down 0.62 per cent. On currency markets at 11:30 am, the dollar traded at 78.56-60 yen, up from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 78.52-53 yen. The euro was quoted at 96.61-66 yen, down from 96.98-97.02 yen late Thursday, and at 1.2295-2298 dollars, down from 1.2351-2352 dollars.