Tokyo stocks close lower after Wall St falls

Tokyo stocks fell on Tuesday as declines on Wall Street following weak US construction data triggered profit-taking.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.44% to close at 21 726.28, while the broader Topix index was down 0.51% at 1 619.23.

Investors cashed in on recent gains after seeing Wall Street stocks sag on lower-than-expected US construction spending in December, brokers said.

"Investors also took a wait-and-see stance looking to new developments in the US-China trade row," said Daiwa Securities senior technical analyst Hikaru Sato.

Beijing and Washington have been edging closer to an agreement in recent weeks following regular talks.

"But market sentiment is not so bad," Sato told AFP. "A quick rebound is likely."

The dollar fetched ¥111.92 in Asian afternoon trade, against ¥111.72 in New York late on Monday.

In Tokyo, heavy machinery manufacturer IHI dipped 2.71% to ¥2 906 after it confirmed a report that unqualified workers had conducted quality checks for hundreds of engines for private jets.

China-linked shares were among the losers as Beijing lowered its economic growth target to 6.0% to 6.5% for 2019.

Construction machine maker Komatsu was down 1.49% at ¥2 770, electronic parts maker Rohm was off by 1.24% at ¥7 140 and industrial robot maker Fanuc dipped 1.28% to ¥19 200.

Nissan dropped 2.32% to ¥940.1 as a court granted its former chief Carlos Ghosn bail after more than three months in a detention cell.