A woman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, on July 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo stocks ended lower Monday on rising concerns about a recent surge in coronavirus infections as the country battles a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines.

       The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 185.09 points, or 0.64 percent, from Friday at 28,598.19. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 7.32 points, or 0.37 percent, lower at 1,948.99.

       Decliners were led by iron and steel, information and communication, and pulp and paper issues.

       The U.S. dollar remained weak in the upper 110 yen range following declines in long-term U.S. Treasury yields late last week, dealers said.

       At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 110.90-92 yen compared with 110.96-111.06 yen in New York and 111.56-58 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Friday.

       The euro was quoted at $1.1872-1873 and 131.66-70 yen against $1.1859-1869 and 131.69-79 yen in New York and $1.1824-1825 and 131.91-95 yen in Tokyo late Friday afternoon.

       The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond edged down 0.010 percentage point from Friday's close to 0.030 percent, tracking a fall in U.S. counterparts late last week after the release of the U.S. jobs data for June on Friday.

       Tokyo stocks lost ground throughout the day, weighed down by selling in blue chips such as SoftBank Group and Fast Retailing.

       "The U.S. jobs data showed steady, positive economic recovery, but the Japanese market was top-heavy as investors remained concerned about the rise in COVID-19 infections in the country," said Masashi Samizo, senior market analyst at SMBC Trust Bank.

       U.S. shares saw record highs Friday after a monthly jobs report showed the country's economy added 850,000 nonfarm jobs in June, topping a market consensus of 700,000.

       However, Tokyo stocks still fell as the Japanese capital and its surrounding areas have been facing a resurgence of infections, while concerns rise over another possible state of emergency, brokers said.

       Investors also struggled with a lack of fresh cues as the U.S. markets are closed for a national holiday on Monday, Samizo added.

       Meanwhile, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's smaller-than-expected number of seats won in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election the previous day also made investors wary about the party's prospects in the general election slated for the fall, said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.

       On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,346 to 749, while 97 ended unchanged.

       SoftBank Group lost 421 yen, or 5.4 percent, to 7,391 yen, after the Chinese government said Sunday smartphone users in China were prevented from downloading an app of the Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, in which SoftBank Group is an investor, due to its alleged illegal collecting of user data. Didi operates a joint venture in Japan with SoftBank Group and has tied up with several other Japanese companies.

       Iron and steel issues were among the largest decliners, with Osaka Steel slipping 11 yen, or 1.0 percent, to 1,118 yen, Kobe Steel dropping 22 yen, or 3.0 percent, to 703 yen and JFE Holdings falling 53 yen, or 4.0 percent, to 1,259 yen.

       Trading volume on the main section fell to 774.29 million shares from Friday's 904.55 million shares.

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