Tokyo stocks fell in light trading as players took their clues from Wall Street and the strengthening of the yen.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 48.29 points, or 0.3% to 14,835, the second day in a row it has closed below the 15,000 level.

The near-term December Nikkei futures contract ended down 60 points at 14,880.

"The margin of fall in the Dow was quite big. That has muted sentiment over the US economy and the dollar," said Yukihiko Hashimoto, a trader at Sanwa bank.

Sentiment was also hit by the news that another Japanese construction company was filing for bankruptcy.

JDC Corp. is seeking protection from its creditors with debts of $3.3bn, after the failure of its golf course project.

The broader market indices were also down, with the TOPIX index of all first section shares down 1.24 points, to 1,142.

There were 329 shares gaining, and 853 shares which lost value.