Stocks edged down Wednesday on profit-taking, but growing optimism about a steady U.S. economic recovery kept losses in check. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 17.33 points from Tuesday to 10,380.77. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 0.11 point to 911.69.

As the Nikkei jumped 1.65% the day before on the first trading day of 2011, profit-taking weighed on the market in the absence of fresh buying cues, brokers said. But selling pressure was not strong, as recent U.S. economic data, the latest being orders for factory goods, reinforced the view that the world’s largest economy is on a sustainable recovery path. New orders for manufactured goods in the United States unexpectedly rose in November.

‘‘Expectations have been growing that we will continue to see economic recovery in the United States…and market players do not seem willing to send shares sharply lower,’’ said Hiroichi Nishi, equity division manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.

Source: JapanToday