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Japanese Stocks End Mixed
Published Tuesday March 28, 2006 by The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks ended mixed Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later in the day. Technology, metal stocks and retailers advanced while banks and brokerages dropped.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 40.4 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 16,690.24 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, marking the third straight trading day of gains totaling 1.2 percent.

However, the broader Topix index, which includes all shares on the exchange's first section, was down 1.15 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,692.69.

Most analysts expect the Fed to raise U.S. interest rates to 4.75 percent Tuesday, after the Fed's policy committee ends its first meeting chaired by new chief Ben Bernanke. But many traders seemed to be reluctant to take big positions in the market.

"It's not the sort of day that investors can keep buying stocks," said Terushige Shibata, trading information officer at Mizuho Investors Securities.

Gainers included Tokyo Electron Ltd. rose 1.85 percent to 7,690 yen ($65.72).

Nonferrous metal issues gained amid higher prices for raw materials, with Mitsubishi Materials Corp. jumping 3.97 percent to 628 yen ($5.37). Daiei Inc., one of the country's top retail chains, rose 5.11 percent to 3,700 yen ($31.62).

Internet service company Softbank Corp. shot up 3.91 percent to 3,190 yen ($27.26).

Banks fell, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. losing 1.20 percent to 1.68 million yen ($14,358.97) while Nomura Holdings Inc. sank 1.01 percent to 2,510 yen ($21.45).

In currencies, the dollar traded at 116.95 yen on the Tokyo foreign exchange market at 3 p.m. Tuesday, up 0.26 yen from late Monday in New York. The euro fell to $1.2006 from $1.2012 in New York late Monday.

The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond rose to 1.7000 percent, from Monday's close of 1.6850 percent. Its price fell 0.13 to 99.14 points.