TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average ended lower on Friday, snapping eight consecutive sessions of gains, as investor sentiment was knocked by concerns around resurging new cases of the novel coronavirus both at home and abroad.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 dropped 0.53% to 25,385.87. The index moved further away from a near three-decade high hit in the previous sessions, but later pared losses to end closer to the 29-year high.
For the week, the Nikkei gained 4.36%, largely thanks to the economic-recovery optimism fuelled by a promising vaccine trial data.
The broader Topix .TOPX eased 1.33% to 1,703.33. All but one of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange ended lower.
Wall Street's main indexes closed sharply lower overnight as daily U.S. COVID-19 infections surged above 100,000 for an eighth consecutive day, and investors weighed the timeline for the mass rollout of an effective virus vaccine. .N
Japan reported a record high of 1,634 new cases on Thursday, a Japanese broadcaster said. .IAIRL.T dropped nearly 3.6% as investors worried that another spike in virus cases could lead to renewed movement restrictions.
ANA Holdings 9202.T slipped 4.8% and Japan Airlines 9201.T lost 1.92%.
Land transport .IRAIL.T also took a hit, with railroad companies such as Kintetsu Group Holdings 9041.T , Sotetsu Holdings 9003.T and Central Japan Railway Co 9022.T down between 3.6% and 6.8%.
Some stay-at-home stocks were bought instead, with Nintendo 7974.T and Sony Corp 6758.T rising 1.08% and 1.81%, respectively.
Rakuten 4755.T fell more than 2.9% after it posted an operating loss of 60.52 billion yen for the nine months ended Sept. 30. Motor 7201.T climbed 8.75% after cutting its annual operating loss forecast by 28% on Thursday. the Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firm shares closed 1.93% higher.