TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average slipped from a record high while the nation’s bonds and currency held steady on Tuesday, as investors awaited the central bank’s policy response to the oil shock driven by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The Nikkei fell 0.5 percent to 60,225.09, after closing above the key 60,000 mark for the first time on Monday. The broader Topix climbed 0.75 percent to 3,763.27.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond was flat at 2.47 percent, near its 29-year peak of 2.49 percent reached earlier this month. The yen weakened 0.1 percent to 159.52.
“Overall market sentiment is not bad, but it is hard to make positions in one way ahead of central bank decisions in Japan and the US,” said Takamasa Ikeda, a senior portfolio manager at GCI Asset Management.
“And the market will be closed in Japan in the next session, and more sessions will be closed for the Golden Week holiday,” he added.