Picture used for illustrative purpose. File

Tokyo stocks closed lower on Wednesday after two days of rallies, as investors sought to lock in profits while watching corporate earnings and key US data.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.26 per cent, or 58.81 points, to end at 22,514.85, while the broader Topix index inched down 0.04 per cent, or 0.55 points, to 1,554.71.

Analysts said that the market was dominated by sell orders but "the gap was narrowed thanks to gains by Hong Kong and Shanghai shares", Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

Investors are also keenly awaiting the US ISM non-manufacturers index due later in the day and key US jobs data this weekend, analysts added. 

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They were also eyeing earnings reports of major firms this week, including Toyota and Nintendo.

The dollar fetched 105.68 yen in Asian trade, against 105.64 yen in New York late Tuesday.

In Tokyo, Sony was down 1.61 percent to 8,546 yen after the electronics giant said its net profit jumped 53.3 percent in the first quarter, but warned annual profits were likely to see double-digit falls because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Honda jumped 2.16 percent to 2,827 yen ahead of its quarterly earnings report due later in the day.

Among other major shares, SoftBank Group dropped 4.18 percent to 6,593 yen while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing shed 0.50 percent to 58,660 yen.

Agence France-Presse