TOKYO, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average slipped on Tuesday as optimism that China would not aggressively head off growth was offset by profit-taking after the benchmark hit a seven-month closing high the previous day.
A slightly stronger yen against the dollar also encouraged investors to book profits after Japanese shares rose more than 12 percent since the beginning of November.
Still, sentiment remained solid as investors had feared China would raise interest rates to slow growth, but instead it merely increased the amount of extra capital top banks must hold.
The Nikkei was down 0.2 percent or 24.89 points at 10,268.99 in early trade.
The broader Topix index fell 0.1 percent to 896.57. (Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Chris Gallagher)