Tokyo, January 26 (QNA) - The Japanese Nikkei index declined on Tuesday, with the market broadly affected by the strength of the yen, as well as traders refraining from buying stocks due to concerns about intervention in the currency market.

The yen rose to 153.89 per dollar, its highest level in more than two months.

The Nikkei index closed down 1.8 percent at 52,885.25 points, with 193 of the 225 stocks on the index falling, 31 stocks rising, and one remaining unchanged.

The broader Topix index fell 2.1 percent to 3,552.49 points.

The automobiles sector index also dropped 3.6 percent, recording the largest losses among the 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Toyota Motor's stock fell 4.1 percent and Honda’s stock declined 4.4 percent.

As for SoftBank Group's stock, the investor in startups focused on artificial intelligence, it inflicted the biggest losses on the Nikkei, falling 4.9 percent and causing the index to drop 164 points.

On the gains side, Nitori's retail furniture stock, which benefits from a strong yen because it imports much of what it sells, jumped 4.8 percent. (QNA)