Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, ended up 35.82 points, or 0.09 percent, from Monday at 39,838.91.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 6.77 points, or 0.25 percent, lower at 2,714.45.
The Nikkei, which fell to a two-week low on Monday, climbed above 40,100 in the first hour of trading as traders took advantage of a drop in the previous trading day to buy stocks, but it slid into negative territory in the afternoon after profit-taking set in again to limit gains, analysts said.
Market watchers here also noted the benchmark's gains were capped as the risk of currency intervention prevailed, with the U.S. dollar creeping up toward 152 yen, a level at which the government intervened in 2022.
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