TOKYO: Tokyo stocks lost 0.67 percent on Tuesday, a day after closing at a six-month high, as the dollar's rally on the yen fizzled, hitting exporter shares.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index shed 103.89 points to 15,515.24, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was down 0.52 percent, or 6.59 points, to 1,253.02.
Tokyo's slip follows a tepid lead from Wall Street where the Dow eked out a 0.05 percent rise as investors weighed a weak US housing report and a deal between Iran and major powers over its nuclear programme.
The deal with Tehran boosted sentiment -- and the dollar -- on Monday, sending the Nikkei up 1.54 percent to a new six-month high.
On Tuesday, Japanese exporters eased as the dollar's rally against the yen fizzled.
The greenback was buying 101.53 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, nearly flat from 101.51 yen in New York but well off a six-month high of 101.90 yen in Asia Monday.
"The dollar's levels are key to predicting the Nikkei, but even the smallest pause in the yen-weakening trend we've seen will invite profit-taking after the Nikkei's recent run-up," Kenichi Hirano, market analyst at Tachibana Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The Nikkei has surged about 11 percent over the past couple of weeks with investors keen to lock in profits, dealers said.
In share trading, Toyota was down 1.24 percent to 6,350 yen, Sony fell 1.75 percent to 1,848 yen, and mobile carrier SoftBank lost 0.47 percent to 8,550 yen.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest bank, added 0.45 percent to 663 yen while Mizuho Financial Group rose 0.46 percent to 217 yen. (AFP)
