TOKYO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as the yen's strength against the U.S. dollar encouraged selling while other investors continued to seek out oversold issues while eyeing key economic data due out from the United States.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 45.74 points, or 0.16 percent, from Monday to close the day at 28,814.34.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, added 3.2 points, or 0.17 percent, to finish at 1,926.18.
Local brokers said that the yen's advance against the U.S. dollar stifled sentiment and sent exporters lower as they are typically reliant on a weaker yen to boost profits when repatriated.
They added that some investors also refrained from making bold moves ahead of U.S. factory activity numbers set to be released on Tuesday and payroll data due out on Friday.
"Investors want to confirm the strength of U.S. recovery from the factory and jobs data to be announced later," Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, was quoted as saying.
Market strategists said, however, uncertainty over the upcoming U.S. economic data is reigniting jitters about the U.S. Federal Reserves' potential monetary policy maneuvers.
According to median economists' forecasts the jobs data is expected to increase from April's meager 266,000 to 650,000, although a great deal of uncertainty remains.
Adding to a somewhat downbeat mood, data released here Tuesday showed that business investment by Japanese companies dropped 7.8 percent in the January-March period from a year earlier.
The drop in capital spending could lead the Cabinet Office to downgrade the country's GDP for the quarter and along with a drop in consumption and exports, among other signs of fundamental economic weakness, Japan could be headed for a technical recession, economists here said.
As for the U.S. dollar-yen pairing, the U.S. dollar slipped to the mid-109 yen range owing to the greenback being sold on hopes for an economic recovery in Europe, traders said.
The dollar was quoted at 109.48-50 yen at 5 p.m. compared with 109.71-72 yen at 5 p.m. in Tokyo on Monday.
The euro, meanwhile, fetched 1.2240-2242 dollars and 134.01-05 yen against 1.2190-2191 dollars and 133.74-78 yen in late Monday afternoon trade in Tokyo.
Markets in New York and London were closed on Monday for national holidays.
Iron and steel and pharmaceutical issues comprised issues that declined the most, while mining and marine transportation issues led notable gainers.
Machinery makers lost ground following Tuesday's less than impressive capital investment data, with Fanuc shedding 0.2 percent, while Yaskawa Electric fell 1.1 percent.
Pharmaceutical issues were sold for profits after recent gains, with Daiichi Sankyo losing 2.6 percent and Chugai Pharmaceutical ending the day 1.95 percent lower.
Steelmakers also lost ground, with Nippon Steel slumping 3.4 percent while JFE Holdings retreated 4.3 percent.
Toyota Motor was a notable winner, however, accelerating 3.4 percent by the close.
On the main section on Tuesday, 907.47 million shares changed hands, dropping from Monday's volume of 1,020.73 million shares.
The turnover on the second trading day of the week came to 2,044.29 billion yen (18.65 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem
