Japan Stocks Slip as U.S. Recovery Questioned

TOKYO--Japanese stocks were down slightly Friday, struggling to recover from a selloff Thursday following unexpectedly weak U.S. gross domestic product figures earlier in the week.

The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.3% at 19453.54 after losing 2.7% Thursday, the sharpest percentage-point drop since Jan. 6. New Zealand stocks were 0.5% lower and the Australian market was almost unchanged. Most other Asian markets were closed for Labor Day, including China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.

Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager of research at Chibagin Asset Management, said market participants were taking profits in Japanese stocks that have risen so far this year. The Nikkei has gained 12% in 2015.

The Bank of Japan maintained its current easing program Thursday, giving market participants a signal to sell for now, as uncertainty remains over the pace of the U.S. recovery and when the Fed may start raising interest rates, Mr. Okumura said.

The global money flow is reversing, said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, with the dollar losing ground against the euro as expectations weaken that the U.S. central bank will raise rates in the coming weeks.

Among individual stock movers, shares of Fujitsu Ltd. were down 17% after the company said it expects net profit to drop 29% in the fiscal year ending March 2016.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at [e-mail]

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