Summary A stronger yen tends to hit the profitability of Japanese exporters.
TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo stocks slipped 0.21 percent Tuesday, weighed down by a stronger yen and profit-taking after ending the previous session at a 15-year high.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange eased 40.91 points to finish at 19,713.45, while the Topix index of all first-section shares fell 0.29 percent, or 4.66 points, to 1,587.59.
The slip followed a weak session on Wall Street and came after the US Federal Reserve s vice chairman suggested that interest rates would rise more slowly than expected, putting further downward pressure on the dollar against the yen and other currencies.
The dollar eased to 119.60 yen in Tokyo from 119.71 yen in New York and 119.91 yen in Tokyo earlier Monday.
Investors are eyeing several speeches by Federal Reserve officials this week for clues about the timing of a long-awaited interest rate rise.
"Maintaining easy monetary policy for a longer time is pretty good news for US stocks, but as it results in a stronger yen per dollar, it s not exactly great for Japanese stocks," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, told Bloomberg News.
A stronger yen tends to hit the profitability of Japanese exporters.
Sentiment was also hurt by news that a gauge of Chinese manufacturing plunged to an 11-month low in March, while a separate measure of Japanese factory activity in March registered a second straight monthly drop.
In Tokyo share trading, mobile carrier SoftBank fell 0.61 percent to 7,017.0 yen, automaker Honda lost 0.96 percent to 4,095.0 yen and Sony eased 1.15 percent to 3,306.5 yen.
Energy shares gained, however, after oil prices rose Monday, with Inpex adding 1.79 percent to 1,363.0 yen.
