A reported US criminal probe into Chinese tech giant Huawei was also seen weighing on the market, along with general profit taking, analysts said. A stronger yen hurts exporters and often drives down the Tokyo market. However, Tokyo financial shares managed to rise, following banking gains on Wall Street, the brokerage said. But Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 0.81 percent to 570.5 yen, and Mizuho Financial Group rose 0.17 percent to 175.3 yen. Tech investor SoftBank Group added 0.92 percent to 7,770 yen.

Source: The Guardian January 17, 2019 08:15 UTC