Tokyo stocks retreated Wednesday morning amid pervasive ex-dividend selling and compounded by the yen's comparative strength against the U.S. dollar.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average relinquished 257.32 points, or 1.54 percent, from Tuesday to 16,426.61.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, dropped 22.03 points, or 1.63 percent, to 1,327.19.

With the exception of rubber product and fishery, agriculture and forestry issues, all industry categories on the main section fell into negative territory with notable decliners comprising insurance, banking and securities-linked stocks.

Source : XINHUA