The Tokyo market's main index slipped Tuesday on profit-taking in blue chip issues ahead of Japan's fiscal-year end. The U.S. dollar was lower against the Japanese yen but up versus the euro.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues fell 53.31 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 11,597.71 points. The index fell 9.10 points, or 0.08 percent, Monday.
The dollar was trading at 104.54 yen at 5 p.m. Tuesday, down 1.14 yen from late Monday in Tokyo and also below the 105.55 yen it bought in European trading later that day. The dollar traded between 104.50 yen and 105.60 yen in Tokyo.
On the stock market, blue chips and most banking stocks slumped as some institutional investors took profits to prepare for year-end corporate book closings.
Japan's fiscal year ends March 31.
Nikkei-heavyweight stocks Advantest Corp. and Fanuc Ltd. fell after Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. said it sold shares in the two firms in an effort to strengthen its financial standing.
"Blue-chip stocks will likely remain heavy until the first week of March," said Hiroichi Nishi, deputy general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities.
Advantest, a semiconductor testing device maker, fell 2.1 percent, while Fanuc, an electrical machinery maker, dropped 2.4 percent. The two companies said they have bought back all of the shares sold by Fujitsu, which rose 1.1 percent.
High-tech issue Tokyo Electron Ltd. also fell, as did telecoms giants NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. also declined, along with steelmakers Nippon Steel Corp. and Tokyo Steel MFG Co.
The broader TOPIX index, which includes all issues on the market's first section, shed 4.25 points, or 0.36 percent, to finish Tuesday's trading at 1,162.49 points. The TOPIX gained 0.17 points, negligible in percentage terms, the day before.
First-section volume rose to 1.340 billion shares, from Monday's 1.296 billion shares. Decliners beat advancers 969 to 480, while 157 issues were unchanged.
In currencies, the dollar retreated against the yen in Asia following news that North Korea had showed a conditional willingness to return to the six-party talks, a forum to resolve the ongoing crisis over the country's nuclear development programs.
But dealers said the U.S. currency's declines against the yen and the euro are unlikely to last long.
"Today's dollar sales were rather technical. I don't think the dollar will continue to fall," said Masamichi Koike, head of foreign exchange spot trading group at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
The euro rose to $1.3181 late Tuesday afternoon in Tokyo from $1.3064 late Monday. The 12-nation European currency was at 137.89 yen, down from 138.10 yen. (Reuters)