/www.fxserver.com/ TOKYO (AP) -- Tokyo shares closed the morning mixed on Friday as bargain hunting was offset by selling after the fall on Wall Street. The dollar was slightly weaker against the yen.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was down 17.51 points, or 0.20 percent, at 8,682.59 points. The Nikkei closed up 198.96 points, or 2.34 percent, at 8,700.10 points Thursday.
However, the Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues on the first section climbed 4.82 points, or 0.57 percent, to 847.78 points. The TOPIX rose 15.96 points, or 1.93 percent, to 842.96 points Thursday.
The dollar bought 120.11 yen at 11 a.m. Friday, down 0.01 yen from late Thursday in Tokyo, but above its level of 120.03 yen in New York.
Market activity was slowed by scant market-moving news ahead of the year-end holidays, but profit taking emerged after technology shares made strong gains Thursday.
Sony, Sharp, NEC, Nintendo and Fujitsu were all down Friday morning, while major banks UFJ and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group rose.
In New York, investors spooked by possible hostilities in Iraq and a steep rise in oil prices sent stocks lower Thursday in light, post-Christmas trading.
The Dow ended down 15.50, or 0.18 percent, at 8,432.61. Declines in Amazon.com and Microsoft helped pull the Nasdaq composite index down 4.58, or 0.33 percent, to 1,367.89.
In currency markets, the dollar weakened, with traders selling off the currency.
Japan's top currency official Haruhiko Kuroda continued efforts to talk the yen down against the dollar and the euro Friday, saying Japan will intervene in currency markets if needed.
As Japan has struggled through a decade-long economic slump, the economy has relied on weakness in the yen, which makes exports more competitive and boosts the value of overseas sales.
The euro bought 124.69 yen Friday morning, up from 124.34 yen late Thursday in Tokyo. Against the dollar, the euro was at $1.0381, up from $1.0356.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond was at 0.9100 percent Friday morning, down from 0.9300 percent late Thursday. Its price was up 0.19 to 100.82.