Nikkei average slip

Japan's Nikkei average slipped from a three-month high on Tuesday after Greek leaders delayed a decision yet again on the unpopular terms of a new $170 billion bailout, tempering optimism over the health of United States' economy. "This is mostly profit-taking and not panicked selling on the Greek default concerns. There is a strong sense of belief that the Greek bailout will be decided at the last minute," said Ryota Sakagami, chief strategist of equity research at SMBC Nikko Securities.
Gains in Japan Tobacco and shippers offered support to the Nikkei, which eased 0.1 percent to 8,917.52 after hitting a three-month closing high on Monday following US jobs data that beat market expectations. Market players said the Nikkei was likely to be rangebound over the next day or two as the benchmark faces major resistance at 9,000 and 9,050, a closing high marked in October.
Japan Tobacco jumped 5.5 percent and became the top weighted gainer among Nikkei 225 components after it raised its annual operating profit forecast by 11 percent to 365 billion yen ($4.8 billion) on stronger domestic cigarette sales. It also raised its annual dividend forecast 12.5 percent to 9,000 yen. The sea transport subindex climbed 2.6 percent as investors covered short positions after the Baltic Dry Index, a barometer of demand for shipping, snapped a 33-session losing streak.
Kawasaki Kisen, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen climbed between 1.3 and 2.4 percent, while Meiji Shipping jumped 21.9 percent. Among global shippers, Kawasaki Kisen is the most shorted Japanese firm, with 7.3 percent of its total shares being on loan, data from securities lending analyst Dataexplorers showed. Nippon Yusen followed with 5.3 percent of its total shares being on loan.
The broader Topix added 0.4 percent to 772.77. The Topix is up 6.1 percent so far this year, helped by a brightening outlook for the US, which offset Japan's disappointing corporate earnings so far. Underscoring relatively strong underlying sentiment, the Nikkei volatility index fell 1.9 percent on Tuesday. The lower the volatility, the higher the risk appetite.
Around two-third of the 114 Nikkei companies that have reported have failed to meet market expectations, Thomson Reuters StarMine data showed. That compares with just one-third of S&P 500 companies. Automakers were steady on Tuesday, with Toyota Motor Corp ending flat ahead of its earnings after the close and Nissan Motor Co adding 0.1 percent. After the bell, Toyota reported a forecast-beating 51 percent rise in quarterly operating profit.