Asia stocks fluctuate in choppy trade; Nikkei ends down 0.2%

Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mixed in choppy trade during late Asian hours on Tuesday, with markets in Japan failing to extend recent gains as the yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.2%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended up 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed down 0.2%.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei inched lower a day after hitting the highest level since December 2007 after the dollar weakened against the yen, dampening the outlook for export earnings.

USD/JPY hit a session low of 101.25, moving away from a four-year high of 102.14 hit in the previous session. A stronger yen reduces the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when repatriated.

Automakers Toyota and Honda lost 1.1% apiece, while Nissan retreated 1.2%.

Japanese megabanks were also lower, as a round of profit-taking kicked in following strong gains in recent sessions. Stocks of the nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 2.5%, while brokerage firms Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities declined 1.3% and 0.7% respectively.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng swung between modest gains and losses in choppy trade as investors remained concerned over China’s economic outlook.

Jiangxi Copper Company saw shares slide 1.5%, while oil majors CNOOC and PetroChina retreated 1% and 0.8% respectively.

Elsewhere, in Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 Index inched up modestly despite a mixed performance by miners an financials.

BHP Billiton eased up 0.2%, while Rio Tinto shed 0.2% and Newcrest Mining dropped 2.2%.

Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a steady open.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.1% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures were little changed, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased up 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.1% at the open.  

The ZEW Institute was to release its closely watched report on German economic sentiment later Tuesday, while the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production.