Nikkei drops amid tech share weakness, Toshiba hit

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Friday, with tech shares hurt after a drop by their US counterparts, while Toshiba Corp stumbled on dilution fears after reports it will issue new shares to raise funds.

The Nikkei ended the day down 0.8 per cent at 22,681.42. It still managed to gain 0.6 per cent on the week, during which it touched a 26-year high of 23,382.15.

Toshiba Corp, desperate for cash to avoid a possible delisting, lost 5.1 per cent after media reports that it was considering raising about 600 billion yen ($5.3 billion) by offering new shares in a third-party allotment.

Tyre maker Bridgestone Corp tumbled 7.7 per cent after the company cut its operating profit forecast for the full year ending December to 430 billion yen ($3.79 billion), a 4.3 per cent drop on the year.

Chip-related stocks lost ground, with Tokyo Electron Ltd shedding 1.5 per cent and Advantest Corp declining 2.3 per cent.

Sumco Corp, however, gained as much as 10 per cent to a 9-1/2-year high as the high-purity silicon maker revised up its net profit forecast for the year through December 2017 to 24.6 billion yen, a 273.4 per cent increase, as silicon wafer prices boom.

Construction company Kumagai Gumi Co dropped 13.7 per cent on dilution woes. Kumagai Gumi announced a capital alliance with Sumitomo Forestry Co and will issue 9.1 million new shares as part of the arrangement.

Subaru Corp lost 1.3 per cent after the automaker said it plans to recall about 400,000 vehicles in Japan this month after finding it had been following improper procedures for final inspections at domestic plants, expanding the count from a previously estimated 255,000.

The broader Topix shed 0.7 per cent to 1,800.44.