Nikkei 225 Slips 0.5% on Profit-Taking After Two Days of Gains

The Nikkei 225 opened evenly but declined 0.5% by the close, as traders locked in gains after two days of upswings on fading concerns regarding the omicron variant on the COVID-19 virus.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 135.15 to 28,725.47, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 173 to 49.

Leading the upside were soy-sauce maker Kikkoman (KIKOY, 2801), up 2.3%, followed by game-maker Nexon (NEXOF, 33569), up 2.3%, and then delivery-service Yamato (YATRF, 9064;Tokyo), up 1.9%.

On the downside were machinery-maker Hitachi Zosen 7004, off 7.9%, and then optical-house Ricoh (RICOY, 7752), off 4.1%.

In other news, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the House of Representatives on Wednesday that his administration would enable local governments to provide a 100,000-yen ($881) handout to households for each child entirely in cash, instead of supplying half the amount in coupons for use at stores. The payments are part of the government stimulus package in light of the COVID-19 suppressed economy.