Japanese stock indices dipped by late Tuesday afternoon after data on machinery orders came in far lower than market expectations. Government data showed Japan's core private-sector machinery orders, a key gauge of trends in capital spending, fell 12.2 percent in January from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis -- well below the median consensus of a one percent fall. The benchmark Nikkei average <.N225> was down 0.33 percent at 11,465.06 as of 0521 GMT, falling back from an afternoon high of 11,525.84. The TOPIX index <.TOPX> of all first-section issues slipped 0.38 percent to 1,127.75 after ending Monday's session at a 21-month closing high. Still, with most analysts viewing the data as reflecting very strong figures in December, the market's reaction was limited. "The general economic background is still that exports are rising, corporate profits are picking up and investment improving. This looks like a one-off decline," said Mamoru Yamazaki, chief economist at Barclays Capital. Losses were also limited by gains in big banks such as Mizuho Financial Group Inc <8411.T>, which were being snapped up by foreign investors, traders said.
Mizuho, Japan's biggest financial group, put on 2.95 percent to 384,000 yen, while second-ranked Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc <8316.T> rose 1.54 percent to 661,000 yen. Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp <6758.T> was down 1.08 percent at 4,570 yen, leading a broad decline in tech shares after the tech-heavy Nasdaq <.IXIC> fell 1.9 percent on Monday. The dollar was fetching 111.26 yen in Tokyo compared with a five-month high of 112.34 yen hit in London on Monday.////