Tokyo stocks end mixed following disappointing U.S. earnings reports

Tokyo stocks ended mixed Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index shedding 0.08 percent as the yen's slide against the U.S. dollar halted and diminishing purchasing sentiment was sparked by Wall Street closing lower overnight following worse-than-expected corporate earnings results.While the U.S. Department of Labor released data showing that jobless claims had fallen to 326,000, a sign that the employment situation is improving in the world's largest economy, and consumer prices show an upwards move, corporate earnings coming in lower than expected soured the market mood here, brokers said.Local traders highlighted Intel Corp's earnings as missing forecasts. The chip maker said its profits for 2013 dropped by 13 percent and likely had a knock-on effect on chip-related and PC issues in Japan, they said.Takashi Matsumoto, director at Okasan Securities, said that Intel's earnings results coming in far worse than expected would have a notable impact on Japanese stocks and the meagre outlook for the firm would also take its toll on chip and PC-related issues here, he said.Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy also helped drag Wall Street lower, diving 28.6 percent following poor end of year sales that came in 0.8 percent lower than the Nov-Dec shopping season a year earlier.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 12.74 points from Thursday to end the week at 15,734.46, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 3.00 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 1,297.39.An absorbent pad worn externally by women during menstruation to absorb the menstrual flow.Sanitary napkinMarket players here looked to square their short positions ahead of the weekend,x431 GDS traders said, and buying also eased as the yen's slide against the U.S. dollar also briefly halted, sending export-related issues here lower, they added.Among automotive issues, Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest carmaker, retreated 1 percent to 6,200 yen, while smaller rival Honda dropped 1 percent to finish at 4,141 yen.Mitsubishi Motors, meanwhile, bucked the downward trend Friday,Seventh Generation Sanitary Pads, Sanitary Napkin, Sanitary Napkin Pads. Featuring a natural absorbent material derived from wheat.Soft cup surging 10 percent to 1,280 yen, the biggest percentage gain on today's Nikkei.But consumer electronics maker Sony Corp. fell 1.3 percent to 1, 780 yen and industrial robotics maker Fanuc lost 1.0 percent to close at 17,435 yen.Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo chain of high street apparel stores, relinquished 0.5 percent to 38,630 yen, but real estate issues found traction on the last trading day of the week.Mitsubishi Estate, Japan's biggest developer, advanced 0.7 percent to 2,944 yen, while Mitsui Fudosan gained 0.9 percent to 3, 628 yen. Sumitomo Realty & Development, meanwhile, gained 1.4 percent to end the week at 4,963 yen.Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal ended the week on a sour note, losing 1.46 percent to 337 yen following reports of a fire breaking out at one of its steel plants in central Japan on Friday.Trading volume on Friday dropped to 2.74 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from Thursday's volume of 3. 15 billion shares, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones by 1,281 to 404.