/www.fxserver.com/ TOKYO (AP) -- Tokyo stocks fell Friday morning as corporations unloaded shares of their business partners and other companies. The dollar was higher against the yen.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average slid 39.47 points, or 0.46 percent, to 8,458.46 points at midday. The Nikkei lost 19.87 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 8,497.93 points Thursday.
The dollar bought 119.72 yen at 11 a.m. Friday, up 0.88 yen from late Thursday in Tokyo and above its level of 119.40 yen late Thursday in New York.
Traders said the unwinding of cross-held shares by companies -- in which firms sell stock they held in clients and other companies, bought to cement business ties -- sent benchmark averages lower.
Many Japanese companies have been gradually selling their holdings in other companies in recent years as the value of those shares has fallen.
Dai Nippon Printing, Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals and Mitsubishi Materials were among the losing issues Thursday morning.
The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 4.52 points, or 0.54 percent, to 834.81 points. The TOPIX shed 0.22 points, or 0.03 percent, to finish at 839.33 points Thursday.
In New York Thursday, stocks bounced back after a drop in jobless claims raised hopes that the U.S. economy is recovering. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 180.87, or 2.1 percent, to close at 8,776.18.
The broader U.S. market also finished sharply higher. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 37.39, or 2.7 percent, to 1,438.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 17.64, or 1.9 percent, to 927.57.
Wall Street's gains also lifted the dollar against the yen and the euro overnight as they reflected some optimism for U.S. assets.
The euro bought 125.44 yen at midday Friday, up from 125.21 yen late Thursday in Tokyo. Against the dollar, the euro was at $1.0484, down from $1.0537.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond was quoted at 0.8800 percent early Friday, up from 0.8500 percent late Thursday. Its price fell 0.27 to 100.18.