TOKYO: Tokyo stocks were flat Tuesday morning after modest losses on Wall Street as Japanese investors returned to work following a long national holiday weekend.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ticked down 0.08 percent, or 16.30 points, to 19,863.51 by the break, slipping off three-month highs reached last week owing to a stronger yen.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 0.16 percent, or 2.63 points, to 1,600.55.
Investors are keeping an eye out for fresh Japanese data later this week and details of a government stimulus package, after the world’s number three economy slipped into another recession.
Dealers were also awaiting revised US third quarter gross domestic product figures due later Tuesday.
“Investors want to wait and see the US data coming this week and Japan’s new policy to raise potential growth rates to reach its gross domestic product target,” Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co, told Bloomberg News.
“It is possible markets will be (lacking) a sense of direction.”
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a plan in September to increase Japan’s gross domestic product to 600 trillion yen ($4.89 trillion).
The proposal comes as government data showed last week the economy contracted in the six months to September — the second recession in Abe’s near three-year premiership.
Japan publishes inflation, unemployment and spending data for October on Friday.
Investors were given a weak lead from Wall Street, where falling commodity prices hit confidence. The Dow fell 0.17 percent, the S&P 500 dipped 0.12 percent, and the Nasdaq ticked down 0.05 percent.
On currency markets, the dollar edged down to 122.74 yen from 122.83 yen Monday in New York, a negative for Japanese exporters’ profitability and competitiveness overseas.
In share trading, automaker Nissan fell 1.41 percent to 1,286 yen, while industrial robotics giant Fanuc lost 1.28 percent to 21,915 yen.
Bucking the downtrend, Sharp’s volatile shares soared nearly 14 percent, adding to last week’s gains on reports that the ailing consumer electronics maker would not be required to repay some of its bank loans.
