Tokyo stocks fell Monday morning, with investors moving to lock in gains following the rapid rise of the Nikkei last week that saw it hit a fresh 30-year high.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 236.44 points, or 0.83 percent, from Friday to 28,282.74. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 9.14 points, or 0.49 percent, at 1,847.47.

Decliners were led by mining, marine transportation, and oil and coal product issues.

The U.S. dollar faced some selling pressure in the upper 103 yen range as investors grew risk-averse on retreats in Tokyo stocks and sought the perceived safety of the yen, dealers said.

At noon, the dollar fetched 103.71-72 yen compared with 103.83-93 yen in New York and 103.69-71 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Friday.

The euro was quoted at $1.2083-2088 and 125.31-32 yen against $1.2070-2080 and 125.37-47 yen in New York and $1.2134-2136 and 125.82-86 yen in Tokyo late Friday afternoon.

Shares were lower from the outset, with the Nikkei briefly losing about 400 points. The drop came after the index hit its highest closing level since Aug 3, 1990, on Thursday. The benchmark briefly approached the psychologically important threshold of 29,000.

"Investors cashed in some of their winnings from recent big gains in semiconductor shares, but the decline is expected to be short-lived as the chip market remains solid," said Kenji Abe, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities Co.

On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,185 to 861, while 136 ended the morning unchanged.

Semiconductor production equipment maker Tokyo Electron sagged 500 yen, or 1.1 percent, to 43,400 yen, chip testing equipment manufacturer Advantest lost 160 yen, or 1.8 percent, to 8,780 yen and chip wafer maker Disco declined 250 yen, or 0.7 percent, to 37,700 yen.

==Kyodo

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