TOKYO: Tokyo stocks shrugged off early losses following a choppy US session and closed slightly higher on Tuesday with investors looking for fresh clues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.11 percent, or 31.32 points, to end at 29,808.12, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.11 percent, or 2.31 points, to 2,050.83.

“The Nikkei index rose by 200 points at one moment after the US-China talks began,” Okasan Online Securities said.

“But the gains narrowed on profit-taking as the Nikkei almost hit the 30,000 level,” it said, adding that the market lacked direction.

US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping held talks during Tokyo trading hours at a virtual summit aimed at calming tensions over Taiwan and other flashpoints.

The two leaders have spoken by phone twice since Biden’s inauguration in January.