TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, reversing earlier gains, as a stronger yen weighed on shares of exporters. Investors are also cautious as they await a raft of economic data from China later in the day.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 28.34 points or 0.13 percent to 21,807.19, after rising to a high of 21,889.89 earlier.
The major exporters are mixed on a stronger yen. Sony is adding 0.2 percent, Canon is rising 0.1 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is down 0.2 percent and Panasonic is losing 0.5 percent.
Among the major automakers, Toyota is down 0.2 percent and Honda is edging down less than 0.1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is lower by almost 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is declining more than 1 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is adding 0.3 percent, while Japan Petroleum Exploration is declining 0.3 percent after crude oil prices fell overnight.
Among the market's best performers, Chiyoda Corp. is rising 4 percent, Toho Co. is gaining almost 4 percent, and Meiji Holdings is up more than 3 percent.
On the flip side, Mitsui Mining & Smelting is losing more than 4 percent, while Shinsei Bank as well as Kyowa Hakko Kirin are down more than 2 percent each.
On the economic front, Japan will see final February numbers for industrial production today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 107 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed notably higher on Monday as traders reacted positively to corporate earnings from financial giant Bank of America as well as a report from the Commerce Department showing stronger than expected retail sales growth in the month of March.
The Dow jumped 212.90 points or 0.9 percent to 24,573.04, the Nasdaq climbed 49.63 points or 0.7 percent to 7,156.28 and the S&P 500 advanced 21.54 points or 0.8 percent to 2,677.84.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on Monday. While the French CAC 40 Index closed just below the unchanged line, the German DAX Index fell by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 0.9 percent.
Crude oil prices fell Monday amid the release of the U.S. government's monthly oil production report. June WTI oil settled at $66.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $1.17 or 1.7 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX