TOKYO: Tokyo’s benchmark index closed flat Thursday with profit-takers paring early gains following several days of advances that have pushed shares to more than two-year highs.

The Nikkei 225 edged up 1.90 points to 20,628.56, while the broader Topix index was down 0.12 percent, or 2.07 points, at 1,682.49.

The Japanese market was initially boosted by fresh record closes on Wall Street and weakness in the yen.

“But worries about overheating turned the market toward negative territory,” Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary.

The dollar was hovering around three-month highs against the yen, changing hands at 112.80 yen in Asian trade, slightly up from New York.

A weak yen buoys the profitability of Japanese exporters and tends to drive their stock prices up.

In New York on Wednesday, all three major indexes notched up more records following strong US services-sector data.

Figures from the Institute for Supply Management showed growth in the sector hit a 12-year high, adding to positive sentiment ahead of third-quarter earnings and as Washington begins to make headway on tax reforms.

Closely watched US jobs data, a key measure of the health of the economy, is due Friday.

In Tokyo, Toyota climbed 0.80 percent to 6,784 yen while rival Honda was up 0.53 percent at 3,388 yen.

Japan’s number two automaker Nissan fell 0.32 percent to 1,086 yen after a more than one percent loss on Wednesday following reports that its domestic factories routinely forged inspection documents for new vehicles sold in the country.

SoftBank slipped 0.71 percent to 9,178 yen after rising on news that Uber’s board of directors approved a proposed investment by the Japanese telecommunications giant, likely to top $1 billion.

Sony lost 1.84 percent to 4,139 yen while Panasonic was up 0.43 percent at 1,632.5 yen.—AFP