Tokyo stocks close down 0.59 percent

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed down 0.59 percent on Tuesday, weighed by a rebound in the safe-haven yen and fresh worries over the European economy.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 59.48 points to 10,050.39. The Topix of all first-section issues fell 0.59 percent, or 5.03 points, to 851.02.

The market was driven down amid a recent rebound by the yen, which stood at 81.98 against the dollar in afternoon trade, compared with 82.28 yen in New York Monday.

Investors are likely to remain cautious ahead of key US jobs data later this week, said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager of investment and research at SMBC Friend Securities.

"As long as the (Nikkei) index holds above 9,935 (its 25 day moving-average), the index's upward trend is likely to remain intact," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

An equity strategist at a foreign brokerage said: "After such a stellar first quarter, clearly some consolidation is in order, and this will take some time to play out."

The bellwether Nikkei index gained 19.0 percent in the last quarter of the fiscal year to March.

"We're likely to start the year with timid corporate forecasts, but the mid-term picture still looks bullish, and the slow start gives players a chance to buy in early," the strategist said.

A quarterly survey by the Bank of Japan showed Monday that confidence among major Japanese manufacturers remains weak despite the yen trading well off historic highs and an ongoing tentative recovery following last year's quake-tsunami disaster.

But weak eurozone manufacturing and unemployment figures also rekindled worries over the currency bloc's economic troubles, which tempered weekend news of a deal to boost the region's debt firewall.

Exporters and real estate shares led the market's decline Tuesday.

Mitsubishi Estate dropped 3.14 percent to 1,448 yen while Sumitomo Realty and Development fell 3.54 percent to 1,931 yen.

Toyota dropped 0.28 percent to 3,555 yen while Sony was off 0.58 percent to 1,707 yen.

Fast Retailing slipped 0.78 percent to 18,880 yen. After markets closed, the firm said sales at its Uniqlo casual clothing store rose 5.1 percent on-year in March.