Japanese Stocks Open Lower, Australian Shares Flat in Early Trading

(NewsCore) - TOKYO -- Japanese stocks traded modestly softer early Tuesday, with tech exporters weighing on the market amid a rising yen, while Australian shares hovered around the flat line.

The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.1 percent to 8,782.18, while the Topix dropped 0.3 percent.

The US dollar fell overnight to touch its lowest level since Japan last intervened in the foreign exchange market in October. This dragged on tech exporters, as Sony Corp. fell 1.7 percent, Elpida Memory Inc. dropped 2.7 percent and Toshiba Corp. was down three percent ahead of its earnings results, due after the market close.

Stock in camera maker Canon Inc. fell 4.2 percent after its 14 percent quarterly profit rise, reported late Monday, disappointed the market.

Banking major Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., which reported a 20 percent drop in its nine-month net profit, saw its shares rise 1.8 percent.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 index traded flat at 4,273.90, with supermarket giant Woolworths Ltd. up 1.5 percent after reporting a rise in first-half sales.

US stocks closed with minor losses Monday, coming off lows as strength in technology shares offset initial unease over skyrocketing Portuguese bond yields and extended Greek debt talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 6.74 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,653.72. The S&P 500 fell 3.32 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 1,313.01, led by a one percent loss in financials.

After falling 34 points, the Nasdaq Composite closed off 4.61 points, or 0.2 percent, at 2,811.94.