US equities ended modestly lower on August 14 as investors engaged in profit-taking ahead of the weekend after a broad advance a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 107.58 points, or 0.20%, to 53,732.41, the Nasdaq Composite lost 73.86 points, or 0.28%, to 26,729.16, and the S&P 500 slipped 13.23 points, or 0.17%, to 7,785.76. The retreat reversed August 13 gains, when the Dow rose 69.72 points to 53,839.99, the Nasdaq added 214.53 points to 26,803.02, and the S&P 500 advanced 50.49 points to 7,798.99. In Asia, the dollar-yen pair traded around 159.31 in early August 15 dealings, little changed from about 159.40 at the previous Tokyo close. Tokyo is shut on Saturday, August 15, leaving investors to assess Wall Street's limited pullback when trading resumes on Monday, August 17. The Nikkei Stock Average had already rebounded 405.21 points, or 0.59%, to 68,713.80 on August 14 after an earlier 784.53-point jump to 68,308.59 on August 13, and market participants are watching whether it can consolidate above 68,000. The modest scale of the US decline suggests any direct drag on Tokyo could be contained, while yen weakness near 159 may support export-related shares, even as traders stay alert to further profit-taking with US benchmarks still near historical highs.