In Tokyo overnight share prices closed slightly lower with local banks selling their cross-shareholdings ahead of the end of the fiscal year in March and investors unwilling to buy as the economy weakens. Investors speculated public-pension funds were buying shares to keep the benchmark Nikkei above the 8,300 point level. Falling share prices eat into banks' capital, increasing the risk of a financial crisis. All of this left the Nikkei down 14.27 points or 0.17pc at 8,316.81, off a low of 8,312.41 and a high of 8,407.15//www.fxcentre.com