Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday as a firm yen against the US dollar dented investor sentiment compounded by financial sector issues taking a tumble and dragging the broader market down.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 218.53 points, or 1.31%, from Tuesday to end the day at 16,465.40. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 18.45 points, or 1.37%, to close at 1,330.77. 

Notable issues that lost ground by the close of play on Wednesday comprised securities house, insurance and banking-linked stocks and the day's turnover was 1,821.1 billion yen (18.10 billion US dollars). 

Source : QNA