Nikkei average dips

Japan's Nikkei share average dipped after failing to top the key 9,500 level on Tuesday, while Mazda Motor Corp shed nearly 10 percent on a report that it will raise $2 billion through a share issue and loans to shore up its finances. Underpinning market sentiment, however, was the long-awaited approval of Greece's 130 billion euro ($172 billion) rescue package by European leaders after months of political brinksmanship and stalled negotiations.
The benchmark Nikkei slipped 0.2 percent to 9,463.02 in a choppy session after a 6 percent rally in the past seven sessions. Market participants said the European agreement was already priced in and the benchmark faces stiff resistance at the 9,500 level, where selling pressure accelerates. "In terms of resolution, the Greek bailout has not solved anything. The market is stable because of excess liquidity provided by global central banks. If you look at the reality in Europe, it's very difficult to find any reason to keep buying," said Kenichi Hirano, chief operating officer of Tachibana Securities.
The Nikkei tested resistance during the session and hit an intraday high of 9,517.04, but retreated below the key level. The day's big winners were social gaming companies DeNA and Gree, with DeNA spiking 8.2 percent and Gree up 7 percent.
Olympus Corp also outperformed, up 3.9 percent after the Nikkei business daily said the camera and endoscope maker, struggling to emerge from an accounting scandal, plans to promote veteran executive Hiroyuki Sasa to president in April. The broader Topix slipped 0.3 percent to 816.29.
Trading volume slipped for a second day, with 2.38 billion shares changing hands on the main board, down from 2.42 billion shares on Monday. The Nikkei is up 7.5 percent this month, taking this year's gains so far to more than 11 percent, supported by a run of strong economic data out of the United States, as well as the European Central Bank's liquidity injection of nearly half a trillion euros and further easing steps by the Bank of Japan.
Among stocks that succumbed to profit-taking were Nissan Motor Co, down 1.5 percent, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, losing 1.2 percent. Toyota Motor Corp, which soared 7.4 percent last week, slipped 0.9 percent on Tuesday. Mazda Motor was a loss leader on the main board, shedding 9.9 percent after sources said the automaker was aiming to raise 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) through a public share offering and 70 billion yen through subordinated loans from banks.