TOKYO, June 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average edged down 0.2 percent on Tuesday, with resource-linked shares such as trading house Mitsui & Co slipping in the face of broad weakness in commodities prices.
But their losses were countered by gains in shares such as Softbank Corp, Japan's third-largest mobile phone operator, which rose 4.2 percent to 1,874 yen after Apple Inc unveiled its next-generation iPhone 3GS and halved the price of its entry-level model, sparking hopes the move could boost sales at the Japanese iPhone vendor.
The benchmark Nikkei shed 16.93 points to 9,848.70 a day after hitting an eight-month closing high, while the broader Topix lost 0.1 percent to 926.18. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Chris Gallagher)