Tokyo shares down at break

Tokyo shares fell Thursday morning with investors locking in profits a day after the Nikkei closed at a six-month high, while Canon and Nintendo dropped as they cut their annual outlooks on slack sales and a stronger yen.

The Nikkei has rallied in recent weeks as growing expectations the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates has pushed the dollar up against the yen, providing support to Japan's exporters.

A strong yen eats into Japanese exporters' repatriated income and usually pulls the stock market down.

However, analysts said shares had likely hit a ceiling.

"Unless the yen weakens beyond 105 per dollar, the upside (of the overall market) is limited," Mitsushige Akino, an executive officer at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co, told Bloomberg News.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.29 percent, or 50.61 points, to 17,341.23 by the break while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.01 percent, or 0.07 points, to 1,382.63.

The dollar was trading at 104.37 yen, down from 104.51 yen late in New York.

Nintendo slipped 0.16 percent to 24,480 yen after the company cut its full-year outlook Wednesday, blaming disappointing Wii U game sales and a pick-up in the yen.

Camera and printer giant Canon dropped 2.94 percent to 2,963 yen as it slashed its annual profit forecast, warning a slowdown in emerging economies and a strong yen were taking a bite out of the bottom line.