TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei inched up Tuesday afternoon, helped by what some analysts said was buying of futures and short-covering as well as rises in resource-linked stocks after commodities rallied on a slide in the dollar.
Still, the Nikkei remained stuck in a narrow range with traders hesitant to take fresh long positions after the yen firmed to a fresh 15-year peak of 80.41 against the dollar on Monday, approaching a record high of 79.75 yen.
"The market gained ground slightly, helped by buying of Nikkei futures in the early afternoon, though the currency markets have been stable and it's not as if we've had any big news," said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan, Inc.
"The market was rangebound and trade was light, and that's why a move towards one direction tends to get exaggerated."
Shares of Sony Corp rose nearly 3 percent in the afternoon before losing steam as traders cited media reports speculating that the Japanese electronics maker could be a potential acquisition target of Apple Inc.
The benchmark Nikkei rose 0.3 percent to 9,424.34, erasing earlier small losses, while the broader Topix was almost unchanged at 821.38.
The strength in the yen, which eats into exporters' earnings, added to investor caution ahead of the peak of the corporate earnings season.
A slew of major companies report earnings this week, including Canon Inc on Wednesday and Sony on Friday.
Resource stocks gained after commodities surged on Monday as the dollar tumbled on market perceptions that the Group of 20 countries at their weekend meeting did not agree on concrete steps to stop competitive currency devaluations.
Inpex Corp, Japan's top oil explorer, rose 0.9 percent to 438,000 yen and Toho Zinc rose 3.1 percent to 364 yen. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)