Tokyo stocks end down, but Nikkei up nearly 5% in 2021

 Tokyo stocks edged down Thursday, the last trading day of 2021, but over the year the benchmark Nikkei index rose nearly 5% to its highest annual close since the 1989 boom.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.40% , or 115.17 points, to close at 28,791.71, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.33% , or 6.66 points, to 1,992.33.

Tokyo trading will take a break on Friday and Monday, resuming on Tuesday for the first session of 2022.

"Concerns over Omicron continued weighing on the market today," said Shinichi Yamamoto, a broker at Okasan Securities, referring to the highly transmissible coronavirus variant.

"Looking back over this year, the Tokyo market performed moderately in sideways trade, showing signs of recovery from the pandemic," Yamamoto told AFP.

The Nikkei rose 4.9% from a year earlier following a 16% gain in 2020.

Earlier this year, it topped the psychologically important 30,000 mark, but dropped gradually as the number of coronavirus infections shot up ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Tokyo shares, however, climbed again as Japan lifted a virus state of emergency following a rise in vaccination rates.

Shares were also supported by a record stimulus announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office after his predecessor Yoshihide Suga resigned just a year into the job.

"Expectations for Japan´s economic recovery are fairly high in 2022," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"There is a chance that the Nikkei will top the 30,000 mark at some point next year," Horiuchi told AFP.

The dollar fetched 115.14 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 114.95 yen in New York late Wednesday.

In Tokyo trade, airlines were among losers. ANA Holdings dropped 1.37% from the previous day to 2,404.5 yen with Japan Airlines down 0.72% at 2,196 yen.

Nintendo plunged 2.02% to 53,650 yen and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing lost 0.54% to 65,310 yen. SoftBank Group jumped 1.45% to 5,434 yen.