Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Wednesday morning from the previous session's near 26-year high as investors took their profits, dragging on financial and mining stocks.
The Nikkei dropped 0.3 per cent to 22,872.59 in mid-morning trade after touching as high as 22,953.18 on Tuesday, its highest level since January 1992, after foreign investors piled into Japanese companies, expecting strong earnings.
Toyota Motor Corp bucked the weakness, rising as much as 1.8 per cent to hit its highest since February 2016 after the company raised its annual operating profit forecast to 2.0 trillion yen from 1.85 trillion yen. It also said it will buy back 1.5 per cent of its own shares, worth 250 billion yen. Insurers and banks lost ground, with T&D Holdings declining 2.3 per cent, MS&AD Insurance dropping 1.2 per cent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group falling 1.1 per cent.
Mining stocks, which rallied the previous day, languished. Inpex Corp shed 0.2 per cent while Japan Petroleum Exploration Co shed 0.9 per cent on profit taking.
The broader Topix declined 0.2 per cent to 1,810.08.