G7's dollar view troubles Nikkei
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Honda and other Japanese carmakers are higher in Monday trade.
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TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japanese stocks ended flat Monday as caution ahead of a Group of Seven finance ministers' meeting this weekend limited gains.
Automakers were up after Honda Motor's surprisingly strong quarterly earnings.
The key Nikkei 225 average edged down 0.06 percent to 10,776.73.
The broader Topix index was up 0.19 percent at 1,049.46.
Markets in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia were closed Monday for religious holidays. India's market was also closed.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei managed to avoid the negative sentiment evident on Wall Street at the end of last week following ker than expected U.S. growth figures.
The dollar stood at around 105.60 yen, down 0.09 percent and within sight of three-year lows around 105.45 yen set a week ago.
It was under pressure amid speculation the G7 industrial powers may not agree on halting its broad-based decline when they meet later this week.
Honda Motor and digital consumer products maker Sharp Corp were among the main beneficiaries. Honda was up 1.84 percent, bouncing for the first time in 10 days.
Rival Toyota Motor Corp drove 3.47 percent higher to 3,580 yen. Nissan Motor Co rose 1.68 percent to 1,148 yen.
Sharp Corp said late Monday its quarterly group net profit rose 27.2 percent, helped by strong sales of liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions and camera-equipped mobile phones
Group net profit totaled 17.76 billion yen ($168 million) for the third quarter ended December 31, roughly in line with a consensus forecast from six analysts of 18.2 billion yen and above last-year's third-quarter profit of 13.97 billion yen.
Revenues at Sharp, the world's largest maker of LCD televisions, surged 10.3 percent to 580.46 billion yen during the October-December quarter.
Sharp rose 1.1 percent to 1,925 yen and Matsushita Electric Industrial, the Panasonic brand maker, added 1.01 percent to 1,596 yen.
Electronics components maker Kyocera Corp fell 3.25 percent to 7,730 yen, even though the company posted a higher net profit for the latest quarter Friday.
Digital electronics products maker Sanyo Electric Co suffered a similar fate, falling 4.08 percent to 564 yen as investors rushed to lock in profits after its strong earnings.
Elsewhere, ailing cosmetics maker Kanebo Ltd climbed 7.69 percent to 126 yen and was the second most actively traded issue by volume, after Kao Corp said Saturday it wanted to buy Kanebo's cosmetics operations.
The deal would be worth about 400 billion yen ($3.78 billion).
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 2.9 points higher to close 3274.9.
The day was driven largely by moves in the National Australia Bank (NAB), whose chief executive Frank Cicutto quit early Monday in a shock move.
NAB shares gained 46 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to $31.02.
Competitors CBA slipped 14c to A$30.37 and Westpac shed 17c to A$16.39
Retailer Woolworths fell 13c to A$11.61 after reporting a second-half result that met expectation but no more.
In the media sector, News Corp finished at A$12.06 -- 16 cents higher -- while Fairfax added 9c to $3.70.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 1.97 percent to stand at 13028.10 near the end of trade. The index had lost 2.10 percent earlier in the day.
The biggest victims were PCCW, which lost 2.44 percent, Hutchison Whampoa, down 2.32 percent and China Mobile, down 2.16 percent.
South Korea's Kospi stayed in positive territory, adding 0.75 percent to close at 854.89. Both Samsung and SK Telecom gained 1.15 percent in value.
The Taiex was down slightly, losing 0.87 percent to finish at 6319.96. United Micro Electronics was one bellwether to lose ground, closing 1.9 per cent lower at T$30.90.
The New Zealand Top 50 index was 0.62 percent off at 2456.122. Negative sentiment continues to hound Air New Zealand, which fell 1.9 percent to end the day at 42c. The airline has lost more than 10 percent of its value since the beginning of the year.
In the U.S Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.22 points to 10488.07. The S&P's 500 Index eased 2.98 points to 1131.13, while the technology-laced Nasdaq slipped 2.08 points to 2066.15.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
