Tokyo's benchmark index finished flat on Tuesday after late bargain-hunting offset early losses, while investors nervously eye Greece's tense bailout talks. The Nikkei 225 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which was down 0.62 percent at the break, edged up 0.02 percent, or 3.93 points, to close at 19,624.84. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.25 percent, or 3.94 points, to 1,602.27. "Individual investors, who missed a chance to buy on dips over the past few weeks, turned out to be buyers in late trading," said Kenzaburo Suwa, strategist at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.
"Foreign investors also appeared to buy selective firms that have recently reported strong performance," Suwa said. Among Topix companies that have posted results for Japan's latest earnings season, about 47 percent logged better-than-expected profits, according to Bloomberg. The Nikkei opened lower, tracking losses on Wall Street partially driven by Greece's financial woes.
"The situation in Greece still remains a negative factor," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, told Bloomberg News. Athens has managed to garner enough money to repay the International Monetary Fund 750 million euros ($840 million) and avoid a default, keeping it from tumbling out of the eurozone for now. However, the bloc's finance ministers, meeting in Brussels, said Greece could not hope for any of the final 7.2-billion-euro tranche of its 240-billion-euro EU-IMF bailout until it makes key reforms.
In Tokyo, Sharp jumped 11.05 percent to 211.0 yen after plunging 26.35 percent Monday on worries over a possible capital reduction and issuance of preferred shares, as the embattled electronics giant scrambles to wipe away years of losses. Toshiba, which lost 16.55 percent on Monday, fell another 0.64 percent to 400.7 yen after it revealed late Friday that it had found accounting problems on a number of infrastructure projects. Tyre maker Bridgestone fell 3.29 percent to 4,749.5 yen after reporting a lower-than-expected profit.