Tokyo shares end higher on see-saw day

TOKYO (AFP/APP): Tokyo stocks ended higher on an up-and-down Tuesday over concerns about the Middle East crisis and US bond yields.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.20 percent, or 62.80 points, to 31,062.35 after spending most of the day in negative territory, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.09 percent, or 1.92 points, to 2,240.73. Investors began the day by buying, hoping to see a natural rebound after the Nikkei index had lost more than 1,000 in the past three sessions.

But the rise of the 10-year US bond yield and worries about the Middle East quickly drove down the Tokyo market, analysts said. However, players still had an appetite for good bargains and returned to buying once shares fell low enough, said Chihiro Ota of SMBC Nikko Securities.

“The Middle East is tense and remains a concern, but it is neither improving dramatically nor worsening,” he said. After seeing sharp falls in the morning, “the market started seeing bargains and energy returned for buyers,” he added. The dollar stood at 149.60 yen, nearly unchanged from 149.67 yen seen in New York. Among major shares, Nintendo reversed earlier losses and added 0.23 percent to 6,081 yen.

SoftBank Group rose 1.68 percent to 6,233 yen while semiconductor test maker Advantest rose 0.63 percent to 4,158 yen. Sony Group gained 0.96 percent to 12,560 yen. Uniqlo-operator Fast Retailing added 1.74 percent to 33,890 yen. Motor producer Nidec plunged 10.52 percent to 5,995 yen after it released a robust quarterly earnings report but maintained its annual outlook. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group lost 0.65 percent to 1,215.5 yen. Toyota fell 0.48 percent to 2,597 yen.