Japanese shares dropped for the first time in three trading days Thursday as the yen rose against the euro and investors sold to lock in recent gains, according to dpa. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 71.4 points, or 0.83 per cent, to close at 8,488.71, after rising 1.24 per cent Wednesday, the first trading day of 2012. The broader Topix index was down 6.71 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 736.28. Exporters such as Sony Corp and Canon Inc dropped as the yen rose against the euro, hovering around the lower-99 yen mark. On Monday, the euro hit an 11-year low of 98.71 yen in European trading. Sony declined 2.21 per cent and Canon was down 1.17 per cent on Thursday. A strong yen makes Japanese goods more expensive overseas and erodes repatriated earnings. On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at 76.71-74 yen, little changed from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 76.67-70 yen. The euro was quoted at 99.10-11 yen, down from 99.99-100.02 yen Wednesday, and at 1.2914-2917 dollars, down from 1.3039-3041 dollars.
