Nikkei closes 1.7% lower

Tokyo shares ended lower Friday, snapping a five-day winning streak, after the Bank of Japan left its ultra-easy monetary policy unchanged at Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s last meeting.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.67 per cent, or 479.18 points, to close at 28,143.97, while the broader Topix index lost 1.91 per cent, or 39.51 points, to 2,031.58.

“The three main US indexes were sharply lower on Thursday as concerns about the management of US banks emerged, ahead of the release of US employment data” later on Friday, IwaiCosmo Securities said.

Also, “because the Nikkei index has risen in the last five days, its shares were subject to sell-offs,” it said.