The Nikkei share average ended down 1.85 percent on Tuesday, its biggest percentage fall in four weeks, as a stronger yen prompted selling of exporters like Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. fell after announcing a share offering plan, weighing on the banking sector. But Toshiba Corp. rose on a newspaper report of robust earnings.

Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments, said other stock markets in Europe and the United States that have not risen as fast as Japan's in recent months were starting to lure investors.

The Nikkei finished down 303.86 points at 16,124.35, almost wiping out a 316-point gain made during a three-day rally last week. The fall was the biggest percentage drop since Dec. 14, 2005.

The broader TOPIX index fell 1.54 percent to 1,659.03.

The dollar stood at around 114.50 yen It dipped to three-month lows around 113.75 yen on Monday after last week's disappointing U.S. jobs report added momentum to a sharp sell-off of the U.S. currency.

Yoshihiko Kosuga, deputy general manager at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. Ltd., said that while overall stock market sentiment in Japan remained firm, the high yen encouraged investors to take profits.

Honda slid 4.8 percent to 6,530 yen and Toyota Motor Corp. fell 2.1 percent to 5,980 yen on concerns about their overseas earnings.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 3.3 percent to 1.16 million yen after Japan's third-largest banking group said on Friday it would raise up to 627 billion yen ($ 5.5 billion) in a share offering to boost capital and help it repay public funds.

The news raised concerns that other banks may follow suit, sending Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. down 4.4 percent to 1.54 million yen and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. down by 3 percent to 894,000 yen.

Retailer Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd. dropped 4.8 percent to 5,000 yen after having risen about 20 percent in the last month. After the market closed, the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores in the United States and in Japan posted a 16.6 percent rise in nine-month operating profit.

<B> Eriko AMAHA</B>