TOKYO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower on Friday as risk-averse selling ahead of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration and the yen's appreciation against the dollar weighed heavily on the market.

The benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, closed 121.14 points, or 0.31 percent lower, at 38,451.46.

Tracking Wall Street losses, the index briefly plunged more than 500 points in the morning. In the afternoon, losses narrowed as the index approached the 38,000-point threshold, which has been a support level since last autumn.

Bargain-hunting and short-covering by overseas investors betting on a rebound contributed to the narrowing of the decline.

The TOPIX index also fell, closing down 8.89 points, or 0.33 percent, at 2,679.42.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones, with 890 losers, 688 gainers, and 65 unchanged.

Notable decliners included SoftBank Group, TDK, Fast Retailing, Nintendo and Toyota. Enditem

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