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Stocks close 0.69% lower

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Tokyo stocks fell 0.69% Tuesday on nervousness over the international response to alleged chemical weapon use in Syria.

The Nikkei 225 index closed 93.91 points lower at 13,542.37, while the Topix index of all first-section issues fell 0.52%, or 5.98 points, to 1,134.02.

"Longer-term investors see a whole host of broader political and macroeconomic factors -- including rising tensions over Syria, U.S. Fed tapering worries, German elections, Greek bailout chatter -- as too powerful to encourage meaningful investment in equities at the moment," said an equity trading director at a foreign brokerage.

"The wait-and-see approach is seen as safest right now," the broker told Dow Jones Newswires.

CLSA equity strategist Nicholas Smith said: "Military conflicts in the Middle East tend to lift energy prices, but Syria is a bit different in that the nation has little oil and only a marginal economic impact, so the impact on global markets may be limited."

© (C) 2013 AFP

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The yen is getting stronger as a rseult - what gives? Yen classed as a safe investment compared to others right now when the proverbial hits the fan in Syria?

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