TOKYO, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Thursday as a firm yen saw exporter-linked shares retreat although robust economic data from the U.S. capped losses as market sentiment remained optimistic.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 90.45 points, or 0.47 percent, from Wednesday to end the day at 19,347.53.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, shed 2.62 points, or 0.17 percent, to finish at 1,551.07.
Notable issues that lost ground by the close of play comprised precision instrument, pulp and paper, and land transportation issues.
Overall, declining issues outpaced advancing ones by 1,045 to 774 on the First Section.
Trading volume on the main section totaled 2,027.94 million shares, dropping from Wednesday's volume of 2,104.59 million shares.
Thursday's turnover was 2,254 billion yen (19.79 billion U.S. dollars).
