Tokyo stocks finished higher Wednesday as investors bought domestic demand-related issues on hopes for a recovery in the economy. The U.S. dollar was down against the Japanese yen but higher versus the euro.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues gained 52.09 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 11,873.18 points. The index shed 29.16 points, or 0.25 percent, Tuesday.
The dollar was trading at 104.44 yen at 3 p.m. Wednesday, down 0.54 yen from late Tuesday in Tokyo and also below the 104.46 yen it bought in New York later that day.
On the stock market, early stock trading was range-bound as players adjusted positions after U.S. stock losses Tuesday due to inflation worries.
But the Nikkei index moved into positive territory in afternoon trading as hopes for improving domestic economy spurred bargain hunting in real estate issues and other domestic demand-related stocks.
Real estate stocks Heiwa Real Estate Co., Mitsui Fudosan Co. and Mitsubishi Estate Co. rose, as did steelmakers Tokyo Steel MFG Co. and JFE Holdings Inc. Major retailer Ito-Yokado Co. also advanced.
Players were waiting for an outcome of the Japanese central bank's policy board meeting and the policymaking session of the ministerial meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, being held in Iran.
In Tokyo, the broader TOPIX, which includes all issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, added 5.45 points, or 0.46 percent, to finish Wednesday's trading at 1,198.25 points. The TOPIX lost 2.65 points, or 0.22 percent, the day before.
In other currencies, the dollar slipped slightly against the yen in Asia Wednesday as players adjusted their dollar positions ahead of the release of U.S. current account data due out in Washington later Wednesday.
But the U.S. currency held steady versus the euro as many traders in Asia chose to keep their positions neutral.
The deficit in the U.S. current account -- the broadest measure of the nation's trade in goods and services -- is expected to have widened to US$184.5 billion in the fourth quarter from US$164.7 billion in the previous period, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of economists.
The euro fell to US$1.3312 Wednesday afternoon in Tokyo from US$1.3360 late Tuesday, and to 139.02 yen from 140.13 yen.