Tokyo stocks ended mixed Thursday as a drop in oil prices benefited some export-related issues but weighed on steel stocks and other commodities. The U.S. dollar was higher against the Japanese yen and euro.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues closed up 6.85 points, or 0.06 percent, at 11,745.97 points. The index fell 102.85 points, or 0.87 percent, Wednesday.
The broader TOPIX, which includes all issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, ended down 5.41 points, or 0.45 percent, at 1,188.44 points. The TOPIX lost 8.67 points, or 0.72 percent, the day before.
The dollar was trading at 106.41 yen at 5 p.m. Thursday, up 0.98 yen from late Wednesday in Tokyo and also above the 106.01 yen it bought in New York later that day.
Blue chips Honda Motor Corp., Advantest Corp. and Canon Inc. were among the gainers Thursday.
But Nippon Steel Corp., Daido Steel Co. and Tokyo Steel MFG. Co. lost ground.
Traders said the market was still haunted by an unclear outlook from Wall Street, where stocks had wobbled to a mixed finish Wednesday as dramatically lower oil prices offset a government report that offered new evidence of rising inflation. Some traders also noted a weaker-than-expected Japanese business sentiment survey released Thursday by the Finance Ministry, which raised concerns that growth might be slowing.
Volume on the Tokyo bourse's first section fell to 1.707 billion shares, from 1.753 billion on Wednesday. Declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,020 to 522, and 108 finished unchanged.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 14.49, or 0.14 percent, at 10,456.02. The Nasdaq composite index added 0.88, or 0.04 percent, to 1,990.22.
The price of crude dropped $2.22 to $53.81 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, but meanwhile the U.S. Labor Department said the consumer price index showed a higher-than-expected 0.4 percent rise for February.
In other currencies, the euro fell to $1.3013 late Thursday in Tokyo from $1.3080 late Wednesday, but rose to 138.41 yen from 137.74 yen.
The yield on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond fell to 1.3850 percent from Wednesday's finish of 1.4050 percent. Its price rose 0.17 to 101.00 points.