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Tokyo - Tokyo stocks extended a losing streak in opening trade on Tuesday as investors searched for fresh trading pegs after the corporate earnings season.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which fell for a fourth straight day on Monday, lost another 45.72 points, to 22 335.27 in the first few minutes while the broader Topix index slipped 3.11 points, to 1 780.38.
The two indices later regained some ground in see-saw exchanges and were flat more than an hour into trade.
"The Nikkei average will possibly correct its (rising) pace in the immediate future. Given that corporate earnings have been strong, however, the drops will not be deep," Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities, said in a commentary.
The key index hit a quarter-century high last week amid easing concerns over geopolitical risks and expectations for sound corporate earnings.
Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre, said Tokyo stocks were now prone to speculative trade, which have resulted in sharp swings in prices.
"Company earnings were largely robust and Tokyo shares rose fast... This has become an incentive for speculation" to reap quick profits, he told AFP.
Going forward, investors are waiting for an expected US interest rate hike in December, which would push the yen lower to benefit Japanese exporters, as well as progress in US tax reform, he said.
The dollar was at ¥113.58 early on Tuesday, little changed from ¥113.63 in New York Monday afternoon.
Shares in tech giant SoftBank fell 0.84% to ¥9 594 after it said there was "no final agreement" on an investment in Uber and warned it could pull out of a potential deal if the terms were unsatisfactory.
Toshiba jumped 5.01% to ¥293 after the Yomiuri daily reported it and manufacturing partner Western Digital had entered in-depth talks on settling a legal dispute over the sale of the embattled Japanese conglomerate's memory chip unit.
The company said it was "always open to discussing potential settlement options" but declined to give further details.
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