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| - Tokyo stocks ended lower Tuesday on dwindling chances of a US stimulus package, as some investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the corporate earnings season. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.44 percent or 104.09 points at 23,567.04, while the broader Topix index fell 0.75 percent or 12.24 points to 1,625.74. "Investors are watching the direction of the US talks over the additional economic measures," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary. The Tokyo market began the day under pressure after overnight falls on Wall Street. Bargain-hunters provided some support in the morning but the weakness of other Asian markets placed further weight on Tokyo, especially in the afternoon, Okasan said. Analysts said the market also lacked fresh cues for major moves. "In the afternoon session in particular, investors began to take a wait-and-see stance ahead of a corporate earnings season, starting at the end of this month," said Okasan. The Nikkei index was "directionless", but various factors ended up driving down Tokyo shares, SMBC Nikko Securities added. The dollar fetched 105.51 yen in Asian trade, against 105.40 yen in New York late Monday. SoftBank Group lost 1.44 percent to 7,140 yen following reports that it plans to pour more than $20 billion into its new investment business. Japan Exchange Group gave up earlier gains and fell 1.51 percent at 2,669 yen after a report that the Financial Services Agency will probe the firm over a hardware shutdown on October 1. IT firm Fujitsu, which built the system for the exchange, fell 1.14 percent to 13,855 yen. Toyota fell 0.69 percent to 6,897 yen. Nintendo gave up 1.75 percent to 57,220, but Sony added 1.69 percent to 7,900 yen. hih/kaf/gle
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