TOKYO, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as pharmaceutical issues gained traction following approval in the United States of a pioneering Alzheimer's drug.
However, the gains were pared amid a wait-and-see mood ahead of the release of key U.S. economic data.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 55.68 points, or 0.19 percent, from Monday to close the day at 28,963.56.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 1.80 points, or 0.09 percent, to finish at 1,962.65.
Dealers here said that investors snapped up domestic pharmaceutical issues following U.S. regulators approving a drug jointly developed by U.S. Biogen Inc. and Japan's Eisai Co.
The drug, approved on Monday, is the first of its kind to counter the effects of one of the causes of Alzheimer's, according to the firms.
"The news on Eisai has given a boost to its peers as well as the overall market," Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities, was quoted as saying.
Other analysts said investors were also drawn to local drugmakers amid a lack of other definitive trading cues.
"Investors are looking at buying pharmaceutical shares amid a lack of fresh trading cues," Masashi Samizo, senior market analyst at SMBC Trust Bank, said.
Hopes, however, for the global economic recovery as vaccination rollouts gather steam in Japan and worldwide, underpinned sentiment and helped limit losses, market strategists highlighted.
"Investors are also scooping up Japanese shares which lagged behind their global peers, as prospects of an economic recovery has brightened amid a rollout of COVID-19 vaccines," said Arisawa.
But a cautious mood prevailed, sending some investors to the sidelines, ahead of the release this week of the U.S. consumer price index (CPI), with investors also keenly eyeing next week's U.S. Federal Reserve meeting for clues about the future direction of its monetary policy, brokers here said.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar rose to the mid-109 yen zone, and was quoted at 109.52-53 yen at 5 p.m. compared with 109.20-30 yen in New York and 109.42-43 yen at 5 p.m. on Monday in Tokyo.
The euro, meanwhile, fetched 1.2171-2173 dollars and 133.30-34 yen against 1.2185-2195 dollars and 133.14-24 yen in New York and 1.2167-2168 dollars and 133.13-17 yen in late Monday afternoon trade in Tokyo.
By the close of play, pulp and paper and nonferrous metal issues comprised notable decliners, while pharmaceutical and marine transportation issues comprised those that gained the most.
Among advancing drugmakers, Eisai surged 19.4 percent, while Daiichi Sankyo jumped 4.9 percent and Astellas Pharma added 0.8 percent.
Transportation issues accelerated on hopes a speedier vaccination rollout in Japan would lead to a full reopening of the economy.
Among railway operators, Central Japan Railway closed up 1.0 percent, while Odakyu Electric Railway gained 1.6 percent.
Japan Airlines climbed 1.8 percent, while ANA Holdings rose 1.4 percent.
But some Nikkei heavyweights weighed on the broader market, with SoftBank Group losing 1.6 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining slumping 4.1 percent by the close.
Issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,399 to 692 on the First Section, while 102 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Tuesday, 928.66 million shares changed hands, dropping from Monday's volume of 945.92 million shares.
The turnover on the second trading day of the week came to 2,186.44 billion yen (19.96 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem