TOKYO: Japanese stocks closed almost unchanged on Tuesday, as an extended rally in trading companies was offset by investors booking profits after a sharp rise in the last session.
The benchmark Nikkei share average was down 0.01% to 23,138.07, after flitting between positive and negative territories. There were 72 advancers against 146 decliners.
The broader Topix fell 0.15% to 1,615.81, with all but eight of 33 sectoral sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange trading lower.
Shares of trading firms extended a rally driven by the acquisition of a 5% stake by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in each of Japan's five biggest trading houses.
Mitsubishi Corp gained 3.12%, Mitsui & Co rose 1.99%, and Sumitomo Corp added 1.86%. Marubeni and Itochu Corp rose 1.22% and 1.41%, respectively.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board was 1.03 billion, compared to the 30-day average daily volume of 1.17 billion.
Life insurers, which rely on foreign bonds for income, dipped, taking overnight cues from long-term US Treasury yields.
Tokio Marine Holdings fell 1.39%, T&D Holdings edged down 0.81%, and Dai-ichi Life Holdings lost 0.72%.
Elsewhere in the market, the Mothers Index of start-up firm shares jumped 2.93% to 1,154.51.-Reuters
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