Tokyo shares edged down Tuesday, as selling on caution ahead of the release of earnings reports by major firms pared early gains led by the solid performance of technology shares.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 58.47 points, or 0.26 percent, from Monday at 22,657.38. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 7.57 points, or 0.48 percent, lower at 1,569.12.

Decliners were led by air transportation, electric power and gas, and real estate issues.

In the currency market in Tokyo, the U.S. dollar was bought back against the yen, hovering in the mid-105 yen zone, after dropping to as low as 105.12 yen in New York, the lowest level since mid-March.

Stocks were relatively firm in the morning session, with the Nikkei index briefly rising more than 120 points, on the back of an advance in technology issues following a sharp rebound overnight in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, brokers said.

But selling accelerated towards the end of trading as investors opted to lock in recent gains before a slew of earnings reports by Japanese companies including Tokyo Electron Ltd., Nissan Motor Co. and Canon Inc., with the focus on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their businesses, they said.

"With a U.S. monetary policy meeting also coming up, a wait-and-see mood dictated the market," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., referring to the two-day meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve through Wednesday.

Market players also remained cautious as infections of the new coronavirus are accelerating in Japan and other parts of the world, they said.

On the First Section, declining issues overwhelmed advancers 1,534 to 557, while 81 ended unchanged.

Shares of Mitsubishi Motors dived 34 yen, or 12.6 percent, to 235 yen after the company said Monday it expects a group net loss of 360 billion yen ($3.4 billion) for the current business year through March on a sales slump due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nissan Motor, Mitsubishi Motors' struggling partner, also sagged 18.60 yen, or 4.3 percent, to 410.80 yen.

Bucking the trend, Fujifilm jumped 148 yen, or 3.1 percent, to 4,925 yen after President Donald Trump's announcement Monday that the U.S. government has awarded the company's U.S. bio unit a $265 million contract to strengthen the country's coronavirus vaccine manufacturing capacity.

Daiichi Sankyo soared 891 yen, or 10.3 percent, to 9,557 yen after the drugmaker said it has teamed up with AstraZeneca for global development and commercialization of its experimental treatment for cancer, currently in early clinical testing with lung and breast cancer patients in Japan and the United States.

Trading volume on the main section fell to 1,088.36 million shares from Monday's 1,160.56 million shares.

==Kyodo

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