TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average was flat on Tuesday as investors preferred to pull back a little after the recent rally as they prepared for the looming earnings season.
However, the broader Topix posted small gains despite overnight weakness on Wall Street, underpinned by hopes of earnings growth and expectations the economy will pick up momentum in coming months.
The Nikkei average ended flat at 19,908.68, off a 15-year intraday high of 20,006.00 touched on Friday.
The broader Topix rose 0.3 percent to 1,590.82 while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 gained 0.1 percent to 14,438.39.
Trading was slow with turnover at just above 2.011 trillion yen, about 17 percent below the average in the last 100 sessions.
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
