Around the World's Markets: Tokyo

JAPANESE STOCKS crawled higher in thin trade, with traders glued to the sidelines by lingering uncertainty in the currency markets. The Nikkei-225 index ended up 9.07 points or 0.05 per cent at 17,211.16.

While many market players were away for summer holidays, those who were at work kept a low profile as the course of the dollar/yen exchange rate remained unclear.

Traders said uncertainty over the dollar/yen rate would remain until the US Fed meets on 24 August to decide on interest rates.