TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed lower Thursday as investors sold stocks after booking ex-dividend payment rights, although high-technology issues found favor trimming losses.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 100.85 points, or 0.36 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 27,782.93.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, fell 12.16 points, or 0.61 percent, to finish at 1,983.32.

Local brokers said that shares going ex-dividend ahead of the end of the current fiscal year dictated selling, despite Wall Street's overnight gains.

"Overall, the market was affected by the shares that went ex-dividend, but it was weaker than expected, given overnight strength of Wall Street," Yugo Tsuboi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, was quoted as saying.

Losses were trimmed, however, as technology-oriented issues followed their U.S. peers higher overnight, although while concerns over the global banking crisis eased somewhat, renewed jitters over U.S. and European interest rate hikes clouded the market mood, analysts here said.

"The buying of stocks was limited as there is wariness over the economic recession in the United States and Europe as they have been raising their interest rates despite smoldering financial instability," Toshikazu Horiuchi, an equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co., was quoted as saying.

As for the banking crisis specifically, strategists said that "for now" acquisitions of failed U.S. regional lenders and Switzerland's Credit Suisse, helped allay but not eliminate fears of a Lehman-type global financial meltdown.

Nikkei heavyweight Softbank Group weighed the most on the Nikkei, dropping 2 percent, while fellow heavyweight Advantest, a chip-testing equipment maker, edged down 0.2 percent.

Among technology-linked shares closing in positive territory, Renesas Electronics advanced 1.4 percent, while Murata Manufacturing added 0.4 percent.

Sony Group was a notable winner, meanwhile, ending the day 2.1 percent higher.

By the close of play, oil and coal product, and marine transportation-linked issues comprised those that declined the most.

The turnover on the penultimate trading day of the week came to 2,968.07 billion yen (22.34 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

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