Tokyo stocks cast off early losses to close 0.15 percent higher on Wednesday as a weak yen and bargain hunting pushed the market into positive territory. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which fell 0.86 percent at the open, added 27.43 points to end at 17,795.73. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.25 percent, or 3.54 points, to 1,429.92. Japanese shares faced selling pressure in morning trade after Wall Street plunged in the wake of Caterpillar, Microsoft, and conglomerate Procter & Gamble all announcing weak earnings or negative outlooks, raising concerns about the strength of the US economy. Adding to the weak sentiment was official data showing a 3.4 percent drop in US durable goods orders in December, which offset a Conference Board report that said US consumer confidence jumped in January to its highest level in more than seven years. "But bargain-hunting emerged in afternoon trade, which sent the Nikkei into the positive territory by the close," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities. Investors' focus will now turn to the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which wraps up later in the day, as they look for any change in the timeline for an expected mid-year interest rate hike. "It's difficult for many players to take fresh positions" ahead of the meeting's conclusion, Horiuchi said. Traders are also nervously looking to Europe where Greece's new anti-austerity government prepares to face off with its international creditors over its bailout. Sony jumped 2.72 percent to 2,824.0 yen as Japan's leading Nikkei business daily said the electronics giant may cut another 1,000 jobs at its struggling smartphone unit, part of a huge restructuring aimed at moving past years of losses. Construction and mining equipment maker Komatsu fell 2.26 percent to 2,587.0 yen ahead of its earnings report and after US rival Caterpillar published weak results. The Japanese firms' report, published after markets closed, showed net profit and sales both rose in the fiscal third quarter. Nintendo slipped 0.12 percent to 12,300.0 yen. After trading finished, Nintendo said its April-December net profit soared six-fold to $504 million as a sharply weaker yen boosted its bottom line and offset slowing sales. Canon rose 0.19 percent to 3,942.5 yen, with the firm saying after hours that net profit grew 10.5 percent in 2014 owing to the impact of a weak yen and cost cuts as well as strong demand for its office equipment. In forex markets, the dollar was slightly higher at 117.94 yen in late afternoon trade, from 117.90 yen in New York.

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