TOKYO: Tokyo shares closed lower after a see-saw session Tuesday, extending the previous day's sharp losses with investors on edge over the global economy and tensions in the Middle East.
A weak round of manufacturing data out of China sparked a sharp sell-off in Asia Monday, sending the safe-haven yen surging, in turn hitting Japan's exporters. The Nikkei index ended more than three percent lower Monday, tracking losses of almost seven percent in Shanghai.
A disappointing factory reading in the United States later Monday added to the sense of fear, hammering European and Wall Street stocks.
"Today we're seeing a correction in risk-off moves, but it doesn't feel like the coast is really clear," Masashi Akutsu, a strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, told Bloomberg News.
"Shanghai stocks managed to eke out minimal gains earlier, but anxiety continues to linger."
After swinging between gains and losses throughout the day, the Nikkei closed down 0.42 percent, or 76.98 points, at 18,374.00.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares lost 0.33 percent, or 4.96 points, to close at 1,504.71.
"Economic indicators in both China and the US are weak," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, said before markets opened on Tuesday morning.
"As they're the world's two biggest economies and the impact is huge, each new data point is keeping stock markets in suspense," he added.
A strong yen, which at one point Monday dipped below 119 yen for the first time since October, was a drag on exporters. On Tuesday the dollar bought 119.39 yen from 119.42 yen in New York.
The yen also strengthened against the euro. The single currency fell to 129.32 yen from 129.37 yen, and is well down from 131.59 yen at the end of last year.
Sony ticked up 0.18 percent to 2,962.5 yen, while energy explorer Inpex edged up 0.37 percent to 1,216 yen helped by a modest bounce in oil prices.
However, Toyota dropped 1.51 percent to 7,226 yen, Nintendo lost 1.47 percent to 16,410 yen and banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ was off 0.21 percent at 744.5 yen.
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, fell 0.54 percent to 40,430 yen and telecom giant SoftBank slipped 0.40 percent to 5,969 yen.
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