Tokyo  - Stocks in Tokyo were almost flat in Tuesday morning trading as concerns over a stronger yen outweighed earlier gains on Wall Street.

The key Nikkei 225 Stock Average index inched up 0.51 points, or 0.01 per cent to 9,675 with financial titles marking the strongest gains.

Bigger increases were capped by concerns over the yen strengthening further against the dollar, thereby affecting overseas earnings of Japanese exporters.

The broader-based Topix index gained 0.73 points, or 0.08 per cent to 868.01.

On currency markets at 9:00 am (0000 GMT) the dollar traded at 89.63-65 yen, down from Monday's 5 pm quote of 89.83-85 yen.

The euro was up at 1.4655-57 dollars, from 1.4622-23 dollars the previous day, and at 131.36-40 yen from 131.35-39. (dpa)