The Tokyo stock market ended lower Wednesday, due mainly to worse-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) figures released just before market opening, traders said. The 225-issue Nikkei average ended at 11,601.68, down 44.81 points, or 0.38 per cent. The Topix index of all first section issues shed 3.25 points, or 0.28 per cent, to stand at 1,164.94. The Japanese government said the nation's GDP contracted by 0.1 per cent in the October-December period, driving the world's second- largest economy back into recession. But Economy Minister Heizo Takenaka told a press conference the Japanese economy is in a recovery track from a broad perspective, despite the dismal data. The fourth-quarter results marked the third consecutive quarter of contraction. The annualized rate translated into a contraction of 0.5 per cent. At 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) the U.S. currency was quoted at 105.10-12 yen, down from 105.13-15 yen at the same time Tuesday. The euro was quoted at 1.3020-22 dollars, up compared with 1.2966-68 Tuesday. --SP 1106 Local Time 0806 GMT
