Share prices closed lower, with investors opting to cash-in gains after the benchmark Nikkei 225 index hit a new four-year peak, dealers said. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average ended down 35.45 points or 0.3 pct at 12,599.43, off a low of 12,581.28. Earlier, the blue-chip marker surged to a new four-year intra-day high of 12,730.21. The broader-based TOPIX index of all First Section issues shed 4.27 points or 0.3 pct to 1,286.29, off a low of 1,284.27. Decliners beat gainers 1,085 to 423, with 149 issues unchanged. Trading was active, with volume reaching 2.52 bln shares, up from 2.0 bln shares at the close yesterday. "Share prices tumbled today, succumbing to bouts of profit-taking after the Nikkei index surged above the 12,700 mark," said Hiroyuki Nakai, chief strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center. However, he said overall market sentiment remains bullish on growing optimism that the economy here is moving toward sustainable growth. "Unlike foreigners, many institutional investors here have not been able to purchase stocks actively in recent rallies. So they will likely step in to support the market," Nakai said. Commerz International Capital Management (Japan) president Hitoshi Yamamoto had a similar assessment, adding that many institutional investors will end up buying shares at much higher prices than they had hoped for. "This is the only chance for many [institutional] investors to buy shares as they will turn inactive later this month as their book-closing [for the first half to September] approaches. They need to buy stocks soon," he said.