The Nikkei index edged lower Wednesday on profit-taking after hitting a seven-month high earlier in the day. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 24.05 points from Tuesday to 10,346.48, after rising to 10,394.22 at one point, the highest intraday level since May 14. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 0.43 point to 905.78.

The market got support from overnight gains on Wall Street where the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at its highest level in about two years and four months, brokers said. Before a holiday in Japan on Thursday, profit-taking gradually picked up pace in the afternoon, they said.

With fewer foreign investors in the run-up to Christmas, the market lacked active buyers. But sentiment remained bullish despite some signs of an overbought market, after foreign investors led a strong rally since November, brokers said.

‘‘Looking at recent moves in stocks, they are quick to recover even if they fall, and that shows sentiment is strong,’’ said Hiroaki Hiwada, a strategist at Toyo Securities Co. ‘‘Stocks may be taking a breather (from gains) but there will be more market participants after Christmas and expectations are high for a solid performance toward the end of the year.’’

Source: JapanToday