The Nikkei stock average closed nearly flat on Wednesday, supported by expectations of more monetary easing through the Federal Reserve but under pressure as investors took profits after four times of gains, with concerns lingering about the US economy.
The benchmark Nikkei completed up 0. 01% at 8, 955. 20. The broader Topix index acquired 0. 4% to 770. 60.
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Tokyo stocks fell 0. 40% today like a plunge in US consumer confidence weighed on Japanese exporters, brokers said.
The actual benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 35. 40 points to 8, 918. 50 through the lunch break, despite an overnight gain in US stocks on hopes how the Federal Reserve would act to boost the ailing economy.
The Topix index of first-section issues of the Tokyo Stock Exchange slipped 0. 52 points or even 0. 07% to 766. 78.
Exporters such as factory-automation systems maker Fanuc and electronics maker TDK took a hit because of the weak US consumer confidence survey, said Naoki Fujiwara, fund manager at Shinkin Resource Management.
Fanuc fell 0. 63% to 12, 520 yen and TDK tumbled two. 35% to 3, 315.
A key US survey showed on Tuesday that consumer confidence plunged in August towards the lowest level in more than two years as consumers worried about the economy amid a political standoff within the nation's debt.
Japanese industrial production data for July, showing a weaker-than-expected 0. 6% increase from June, had a muted effect on stocks as "it is still within the positive, " Fujiwara told Dow Jones Newswires.
The Dow Jones Industrial Typical rose 0. 18% to end at 11, 559. 95 on Tuesday since the minutes of a Fed August 9 policy meeting showed most members worried about economic weakness and readily weighing possible stimulus moves.
But "the Fed minutes can't be a sustainable buying incentive for US stocks, " said Yutaka Miura, older technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
"Investors will likely remain cautions ahead associated with upcoming macroeconomic indicators, which are expected to be poor, " he stated.
Market players have been waiting for manufacturing data on Thursday and work data on Friday.