P Index: Index and Points

p index: On Tuesday, the key market gauge shed 20.47 points. ; The Topix index of all first-section issues finished up 3.81 points, or 0.24 percent, at 1,620.88, after losing 4.50 points the previous day, according to The Japan Times. Stocks got off to a firmer start after all three major U.S. stock indexes the 30-issue Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index went up on Tuesday. The 225-issue Nikkei average climbed 94.96 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 20,050.16. Investors also took heart from the yen's weakening against the dollar that followed the stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence index for July, released by the Conference Board also on Tuesday, brokers said. The market's topside grew somewhat heavy as players who had bought stocks when the Nikkei average stood below 20,000 sold them to lock in profits after the key marker gauge retook the psychologically important line, said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. After the initial buying ran its course, however, stocks trimmed gains, as market players retreated to the sidelines to see the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting through Wednesday, the brokers said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.