Tokyo shares fell sharply Friday as investors rushed to unload their holdings to secure profits ahead of a five-day holiday, during which the government is expected to extend Japan's state of emergency declaration to fight the novel coronavirus.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 574.34 points, or 2.84 percent, from Thursday at 19,619.35. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 32.77 points, or 2.24 percent, lower at 1,431.26.

Decliners were led by marine transport, insurance, and iron and steel issues.

"Investors hurried to curtail their positions on concerns the economy will have to wait longer before reopening," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., said.

Tokyo shares opened lower and continued to lose ground throughout the day as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is widely seen as set to extend the emergency declaration beyond the original expiration date of May 6, brokers said.

A government panel of experts on infectious diseases endorsed the likely decision at their meeting Friday, stressing the need for some businesses to remain shut and people to avoid nonessential outings for another month to contain the virus. Abe is expected to announce the decision Monday.

Market sentiment was also dented by weak U.S. data released overnight, showing the country's consumer spending for March plunged 7.5 percent from the previous month, the sharpest fall in more than 60 years.

On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,807 to 324, while 40 ended unchanged.

Tokyo Electron dropped 1,265 yen, or 5.5 percent, to 21,675 yen after the semiconductor equipment maker reported Thursday weaker profits for the year ended March while declining to release earnings guidance for the current business year due to the pandemic.

Other chip-related issues also struggled. Screen Holdings sagged 320 yen, or 6.1 percent, to 4,940 yen while Advantest skidded 295 yen, or 5.6 percent, to 4,975 yen.

Marine transport issues fell sharply, with Mitsui O.S.K Lines slumping 172 yen, or 9.1 percent, to 1,721 yen after it projected Thursday a pretax loss for the current business year through next March amid uncertain prospects over the pandemic. Its peer Nippon Yusen was down 101 yen, or 7.1 percent, at 1,329 yen.

Trading volume on the main section fell to 1,364.65 million shares from Thursday's 1,717.66 million shares.

==Kyodo

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