Japan stocks stable ahead of Greece elections

Japanese shares were almost flat Friday, with export-linked issues down by a stronger yen, and as investors took to the sidelines ahead of elections in Greece. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.43 points, or 0.01 per cent, to end at 8,569.32 while the broader-based Topix index was up 0.91 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 726.57. For the week, the Nikkei rose 1.3 per cent and the Topix added 1.23 per cent. Shares in Nissan Motor Co fell 0.67 per cent, Toyota Motor Corp dropped 0.63 per cent, Honda Motor Co lost 0.43 per cent, Sony Corp declined 0.68 per cent and Canon Inc was down 0.47 per cent. Renesas Electronics Corp jumped 1.27 per cent after the Nikkei business daily reported the embattled Japanese chipmaker would receive 100 billion yen (1.26 billion dollars) in financial support from three major shareholders and four lenders.