Shares in Japan rose on Tuesday as investors sought to qualify for the mid-term deadline but bigger gains were capped by ongoing concern about global growth.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 22 points at 9,091 in Tokyo while the the broader Topix index rose 0.5% to 757. The Hang Seng eked out a 3 point gain at 20,698 in Hong Kong in lower than usual trading volumes.

Shares of Panasonic and Toyota rose as investors rushed to qualify for the mid-term payout. The shares were up 1.3% and 1.1% respectively.

As well as poor German business sentiment data, market sentiment was also rattled by a weaker than expected earnings forecast by US bellwether Caterpillar.

Japanese peers felt the pressure and shares of Komatsu fell 1% while dropped Kawasaki Heavy Industries 1.9%.

Elsewhere shares of Sharp were up a touch after reports of the group's restructuring plans which include cutting 11,000 jobs worldwide and the sale of $2.7bn in assets.

Japan Airlines tanked 8.8%, after its recent initial public offering, on fears about flight cancellations to China in the wake of anti-Japan protests.

After the bell, Sony was in focus after Standard & Poor's downgraded the company's debt rating by one notch to BBB, citing concern about slowing earnings this fiscal year.

In Hong Kong commodity stock moved out of favour as prices fell. Gold producer Zijin Mining lost 1.6% while Aluminum Corp of China declined 1.6%.

Railway stocks came under pressure after Swiss broker Credit Suisse placed a an "underweight" rating on the sector, citing fears of reduced earnings following smaller funding and delayed orders.

Shares of China Railway Construction tanked 1.8% while China Communications Construction dropped 2%.



CJ

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