Japan's Nikkei closes flat as investors await fresh trade signals
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Japan's Nikkei share average ended flat on Tuesday, as support from a pause in the yen's rally lifted automakers and exporters, while investor sentiment remained cautious following U.S. sovereign downgrade by Moody's last week.At the same time, uncertainty ahead of a three-day Group of Seven meetings of finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Canada later in the day makes it "difficult for traders to move," said Maki Sawada, a strategist at Nomura.Finance ministers will strive for unity on non-tariff issues at the gathering, but may have trouble reaching consensus with a Trump administration intent on pushing allies to serve U.S. interests.The Nikkei index held its ground at 37,529.49, while the broader Topix was also steady at 2,738.83.Investors worry that U.S. officials may push for a weaker dollar as part of tariff negotiations. Japan's top trade negotiator said on Tuesday there was no change to Tokyo's stance of demanding an elimination of U.S. tariffs in bilateral trade negotiations.Trade tensions with China are also far from resolved, in spite of a recent rapprochement."This is not an environment where we can be complacent about the Sino-U.S. trade relationship," said Nomura's Sawada. "Developments are likely to continue to swing stock markets."Car manufacturers and suppliers rose 0.7% as a sector, while non-ferrous metals led gains with a 1.89% advance.The yen strengthened to 144.31 per dollar on Monday, extending a rally from 148.455 a week earlier, but has since stabilized.Strength in chip-related shares was another factor pulling the Nikkei higher, with Advantest gaining about 3%.
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