/www.fxserver.com/ TOKYO (AP) -- Tokyo shares closed up Tuesday morning, with some traders speculating that the government was buying stocks to stabilize the market after the leading stock market gauge hit a 19-year low Monday. The dollar was higher against the yen.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed morning trading up 43.67 points, or 0.50 percent, at 8,731.67 Tuesday. On Monday, the Nikkei closed down 339.55 points, or 3.76 percent, at 8,668.00 points -- its lowest finish since June 16, 1983.
Further falls were expected Tuesday as traders have come to distrust government measures to stop deflation, or price falls that cause unemployment and economic contraction.
However, the Nikkei breaking below 8,500 is seen as detrimental for the ailing banking industry. Without any apparent incentives to buy, traders suspect the rise is because the government has shifted public pension funds to stocks to bolster market levels.
The rise was led by banks including UFJ, Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, and Mizuho Holdings.
The dollar bought 124.26 yen on the Tokyo foreign exchange market at 11 a.m. Tuesday, up 0.28 yen from 123.98 yen in Tokyo Monday, and equal to its New York trading level Monday.
In New York, investors were unnerved by a profit warning from Sears and sold stocks for a fourth straight session Monday to extend six weeks of selloffs on Wall Street. Anxiety was aggravated by the shutdown of West Coast ports in the United States and the possibility of war with Iraq.
The Dow closed down 105.56, or 1.4 percent, at 7,422.84, for a four-day loss of 515.95. The Dow is near a five-year low, having not had a weaker finish since Nov. 12, 1997, when it stood at 7,401.30.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 20.50, or 1.8 percent, to 1,119.40, having closed last week at a six-year low.
The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed the morning up slightly Tuesday, gaining 1.30 points, or 0.15 percent, to 861.77. The TOPIX was down 31.13 points, or 3.49 percent, at 860.47 Monday.
The euro traded at 122.31 yen Tuesday morning, up from 121.33 yen late Monday in Tokyo. Against the dollar, the euro was quoted at 98.36 cents, up from 97.88 cents.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond rose to 1.1950 percent Tuesday morning from 1.1800 late Monday. Its price fell 0.13 to 100.04.