Posted By: Janine Delacroix

Thu Nov 9, 3:47 AM ET

TOKYO - Japanese stocks slipped Thursday, hurt by declines in bank and real estate stocks amid concerns about a possible lull in the economy. The dollar rose against the yen.
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The Nikkei 225 index fell 17.17 points, or 0.11 percent, to finish at 16,198.57 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The index fell 177.67 points, or 1.08 percent, Wednesday.

Stocks initially were mixed as traders shrugged off gains in New York Wednesday with the Dow Jones industrials reaching another record. But the Tokyo market dropped in afternoon trading.

Some players appear to be losing some confidence in Japan's economic recovery, traders said. The government said Wednesday that September leading indictors fell below 50.0 boom-or-bust line for the third month in a row.

Major bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. fell 1.61 percent to 1.22 million yen ($10,338.98), while realator Mitsui Fudosan Co. dropped 5.12 percent to 2,685 yen ($22.85).

Softbank Corp. rose 1.71 percent to 2,380 yen ($20.17) after the Internet services firm said Wednesday it swung back into the black for the fiscal first-half by cutting its broadband Internet service promotion costs and others.

The broader Topix index, which includes all shares on the exchange's first section, shed 8.44 points, or 0.53 percent, to 1,589.06 points.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar was trading at 117.90 yen on the Tokyo foreign exchange market at 3 p.m. Thursday, up from 117.73 yen from late Wednesday in New York. The euro fell to $1.2764 from $1.2773.

The yield on Japan's 10-year government bond fell to 1.6950 percent from Wednesday's finish of 1.7200 percent. Its price rose to 100.88 from 100.67.

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