Tokyo stocks close lower

TOKYO: Tokyo shares closed lower on Tuesday after Wall Street ended mostly down on the latest disappointing manufacturing sector data.

The Nikkei 225 index lost 0.50 percent, or 139.19 points, to close at 27,641.83, while the broader Topix index dipped 0.46 percent, or 8.91 points, to 1,931.14.

The Tokyo market has come under pressure on rising worries about the general economic outlook, with fresh indicators showing that US manufacturing growth is slower than expected.

It prompted global investors to turn more cautious, sending the Dow down 0.3 percent, although the Nasdaq managed to edge up 0.1 percent.

Japan shares fall on caution ahead of earnings, rising COVID-19 cases before Olympics

"US equity markets have begun the new week in a tentative manner with a nervous feeling in the air," said Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank.

The selling in Tokyo came after the Nikkei jumped 1.8 percent on Monday despite a broader downward trend.

"Sea-saw trade continued but there were no fresh clues in the afternoon," Okasan Online Securities said in a note to clients.

Airlines were lower as governors urged people in Japan not to travel during summer holidays because of a surge in coronavirus cases.

Japan Airlines (JAL) plunged 2.95 percent to 2,197 yen while ANA Holdings dropped 2.04 percent to 2,491.5 yen.

After the closing bell, JAL said it had trimmed losses by nearly half in the April-June period thanks to cost-cutting efforts.

The carrier did not reveal its full-year outlook citing the unforeseeable impact of the pandemic.

ANA said last week it had cut its first-quarter loss by more than half on strong sales.

Among other firms, Sony Group fell 0.90 percent to 11,445 yen. Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing slid 0.89 percent to 73,130 yen.

Investment giant SoftBank Group was down 0.73 percent to 6,911 yen.