Market players said the Nikkei was likely to trade between 10,050 to 10,200 on Wednesday after Nikkei futures in Chicago losed at 10,045, down 35 points, or 0.35 percent, from Monday's Osaka close of 10,080. There was a public
holiday in Japan on Tuesday.
"The focus today will be on whether the Nikkei can hold the 10,100 level in the morning session and then to see how it reacts to Chinese markets in the afternoon," said Masayuki Doshida, senior market analyst at Rakuten Securities.
"Growth worries about China will lead to selling of energy stocks and commodity related shares, as well as stocks that have high exposure to China's economy such as Komatsu and Fanuc," said Doshida.
Wall Street slipped overnight after global mining giant BHP Billiton said it saw signs of "flattening" iron-ore demand from China, the world's top metals consumer, weighing down commodity markets and energy shares.
But strategists said the softer yen against the euro and the steady dollar/yen rate would likely to support the overall market.
The euro was last trading at 110.710 yen on the EBS platform, while the greenback was at 83.67 yen.
Also offsetting concerns about China's growth, U.S. economic data remained robust in February, with permits for U.S. homebuilding nearing a 3-1/2 year high last month even as groundbreaking activity slipped, suggesting a nascent recovery in the housing sector was still on track.
On Monday, the benchmark Nikkei closed 0.1 percent higher at 10,141.99 after touching an 8-1/2-month intraday peak of 10,172.64, while the broader Topix index added 0.2 percent to 868.35.
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