Tokyo shares closed mixed on Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of earnings results from major Japanese companies later this week, brokers said. The benchmark Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was flat, edging down 0.07 percent, or 6.81 points, to 9,496.85 while the Topix index of all first- section shares rose 0.03 percent, or 0.24 points, to 846,12. The Nikkei gave up earlier gains in afternoon trade as concerns about the strong yen persisted, dampening investor appetite, analysts said. 'Market conditions are so fragile that optimistic sentiment quickly recedes, while pessimism is rampant,' Toshikazu Horiuchi, equity strategist at Cosmo Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires. The Nikkei index may hover near 9,500 before major Japan corporate earnings come out later this week, said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities. Sony, Panasonic and Nintendo will release April-June results on Thursday, followed by Hitachi and Honda on Friday. Yahoo! Japan rose 1.15 percent ahead of announcing an Internet search technology tie-up with Google, sidestepping part owner Yahoo! Inc's far-reaching online partnership with Microsoft. Nissan Motor climbed 0.79 percent on hopes for strong April-June earnings due Thursday, despite news that it is recalling some 51,000 units of its popular Cube compact in North America. Kirin Holdings lost 0.34 percent amid investor uncertainty over its plans to purchase a 14.7 percent stake in Singapore-based Fraser and Neave, which makes Tiger Beer. JPMorgan said in a report that the market had expected a bigger commitment and the deal's impact on earnings would likely be limited. JFE Holdings ended 3.13 percent lower after the company forecast a 120 billion yen net profit for the fiscal year through March against analyst forecasts of a 160 billion yen profit. It earlier announced plans to acquire a 14.99 percent stake in India's JSW Steel for one billion dollars. Shares in high-tech giant Canon Inc. closed 0.42 percent lower before it said second quarter net profit more than quadrupled to 778 million dollars year-on- year on healthy sales in office equipment and consumer gadgets. The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Monday it was considering doing away with its 90-minute lunch break and extending its trading hours in a bid to increase its competitiveness against emerging Asian rivals. 