Tokyo shares ended the morning session slightly lower Friday on profit-taking, but optimism on corporate earnings drove the benchmark Nikkei index briefly topped 20,000 points for the first time since April 17, 2000.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average inched down 16.86 points, or 0.08 percent, from Thursday at 19,920.86.The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 4. 99 points, or 0.31 percent, at 1,589.20.