Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks recovered from morning falls Tuesday after gains in China.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 72.29 points, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 10,393.23.

The broader-based Topix index was also up 1.8 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 946.4.

Shares were down in morning trading as the yen strengthened against the dollar, which also reined in gains in the afternoon, traders said.

Also dampening investor sentiment was a narrowing of Japan's current account surplus by 19.4 per cent in July from the same month a year before to 1.27 trillion yen (13.9 billion dollars), the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

The decline came as exports fell and Japan received fewer payments for patents.

On currency markets at noon (0300 GMT), the dollar traded at 92.80-82 yen, down from Monday's 5 pm quote of 93.22-25 yen.

The euro traded at 1.4338-39 dollars, down from late Monday's quote of 1.4345-48 dollars, and at 133.05-12 yen, down from 133.75-79 yen.

A stronger yen increases the prices of Japanese producers' products sold abroad and lowers their overseas earnings. (dpa)