Tokyo stocks edge up by break after string of gains

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended the morning session modestly higher Wednesday with the market running out of steam following 11 days of gains that have propelled the benchmark index to two-decade highs.

The Nikkei 225 ticked up 0.09 percent or 18.44 points, to 21,354.56 by the lunch break, while the broader Topix index added 0.03 percent, or 0.45 points, to sit at 1,723.82.

Tokyo's modest rise came after fresh records on Wall Street with the Dow and S&P 500 closing at new all-time highs following solid results from big firms including Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs.

But after a long string of gains in Tokyo, "profit taking pushed (the Nikkei index) into the negative territory" before ending the morning in the black, Okasan Online Securities strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.

Investors are also watching the Chinese communist party's twice-a-decade congress which opened Wednesday and a set of Chinese data later this week, he said.

China-watchers are hoping the leadership provides some idea about future policy, particularly in tackling the country's titanic debt mountain and possible further liberalisation.

Blue-chip Japanese exporters were higher, with Sony gaining 1.46 percent to 4,215 yen and Canon advancing 0.62 percent to 4,026 yen.

Scandal-hit Kobe Steel was down 3.63 percent at 822 yen.

On Tuesday, the firm said it has received a request from the US Department of Justice for information linked to the snowballing quality scandal that has battered its reputation and share price.

Kansai Electric was down 1.28 percent at 1,567.5 yen after a report Tuesday that it will decommission two of its old nuclear reactors.

The company said it has not yet made a final decision on whether to mothball the two reactors.

In forex trading, the dollar fetched 112.18 yen, against 112.20 yen in New York.