Tokyo opens mixed as banks decline


The yen briefly touched 130 to the dollar in Tokyo on Tuesday morning

TOKYO, Japan -- Stocks in Tokyo opened mixed on Tuesday after Monday's holiday to mark Emperor Akihito's birthday.

Banks were lower but some tech stocks such as Toshiba and Hitachi made ground.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index initially rose 16.36 points or 0.16 percent to 10,351.81 before slipping just into the red.

The broader capital-weighted Topix was down marginally, losing 2.03 points or 0.2 percent to 1005.49.

The weaker yen -- it slipped to 130 against the U.S. dollar in early trade Tuesday-- and the flat close for Wall Street on Monday weighed on the Tokyo market.

Most markets closed

Other markets in the region, including Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Hong Kong, were closed Tuesday for the Christmas holiday.

Japanese banks were broadly lower after domestic media reported that the Financial Services Agency will order Fukushima Bank Ltd to rapidly raise its capital base.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said on Tuesday that the regional bank will on Tuesday revise its capital ratio as of September 30 down to just below two percent after making provisions for bad debts in line with the FSA's onsite inspections conducted in October.

Fukushima Bank was ask-only at 77 yen, down 15 yen or 16.3 percent from the previous close.

Other banks were also lower amid concerns over their fragile capital bases due to higher costs to write off problem loans and also because of the weak stock market.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's biggest bank by assets, was ask-only at 254,000 yen, down 8,000 yen or 3.05 percent from the previous close.

Third-ranked Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group was down 25,000 yen or 2.94 percent at 825,000 yen.

Reuters contributed to this report.