TOKYO, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed essentially flat Monday as technology issues losing ground was offset by steelmakers gaining traction, although investors refrained from making bold moves ahead of key economic data.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average shed 18.16 points, or 0.06 percent, from Friday to close the day at 29,048.02.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, edged up 3.02 points, or 0.15 percent, to finish at 1,965.67.
Local brokers said that investors were keenly eyeing the upcoming release of key economic data including U.S. jobs data as well as the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) Tankan business sentiment survey.
"Some key U.S. economic reports such as jobs data will be released later this week, so inventors will remain cautious for the whole week. But that does not mean sentiment is bad as other indexes have risen," Tomoichiro Kubota, a senior market analyst at Matsui Securities, was quoted as saying.
Other analysts specifically referenced the BOJ's upcoming survey as having a bearing on future market moves.
"Investors refrained from making major moves ahead of the release of major economic data, including the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey later this week," Koichi Fujishiro, a senior economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, was quoted as saying.
Health experts have warned that Tokyo could experience a considerable rebound in COVID-19 cases, as the number of daily new infections has been higher than the previous week for eight straight days through Sunday.
As such, issues driven by domestic demand came under pressure Monday, dealers here said.
By the close of play, notable decliners included mining and precision instrument issues, while iron and steel, and retail issues comprised those that gained the most.
High technology shares came under pressure, following their U.S. peers' decline late last week, with Advantest dropping 1.3 percent, while Tokyo Electron dropped 1.6 percent.
Screen Holdings, for its part, shed 0.9 percent, while Disco slipped 1.9 percent by the close.
Pharmaceutical firm Eisai fell 1.8 percent, while online medical services provider M3 ended the day 1.2 percent lower.
Steelmakers finding favor, included Kobe Steel gaining 1.7 percent and Nippon Steel jumping 3.2 percent.
Seven & i Holdings closed 4.5 percent higher, after saying Friday it would sell 293 of its U.S. Speedway convenience stores following U.S. antitrust orders.
Issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,466 to 624 on the First Section, while 102 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Monday, 870.73 million shares changed hands, dropping from Friday's volume of 904.26 million shares.
The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 1,968.08 billion yen (17.78 billion U.S. dollars).
