Tokyo stocks dropped 0.86 per cent on Wednesday, giving up early gains that stemmed from hopes EU leaders would act to aid weak banks, with dealers saying buyers lacked conviction.

The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 73.14 points to 8,382.98, but rebounded from a midday low of 8,343.01. The Topix index of all first section shares lost 1.35 per cent, or 9.93 points, to 726.25.

Kaia Kanepi upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open.

The 43rd-ranked Kanepi rallied from three games down in the third set and won the match when she broke the defending champion with a forehand down the line.

After a sluggish start, Wozniacki dominated the second set but was unable to keep the momentum in the third when she was broken three times by the Estonian player.

A powerful typhoon roared up Japan’s main island, severing power lines, overturning trucks, halting train lines and creating a rush-hour commuter crush as it twisted through the capital and then headed north. More >

Tokyo stocks recouped early losses and closed marginally higher on late bargain-hunting Wednesday amid caution ahead of release of key US economic data later in the week, brokers said.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.30 points or 0.01 per cent to 8,955.20, while the Topix index of all first-section issues of the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 3.30 points or 0.43 per cent to 770.60.

“Moderate bargain-hunting emerged in late trading, but the buying sentiment was not strong,” said Hirokazu Fujiki, analyst at Okasan Securities. “Many market players are on the sidelines ahead of key indicators.”

Radioactive contamination may keep some areas around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex off limits for years, Japan’s government said Monday.

In its first detailed survey of the evacuation zone around the plant, the education ministry said it found spots—mostly within three kilometers (nearly two miles) of the plant—where annual radiation exposure could reach 200 to 500 millisieverts. The government requires people to evacuate if the cumulative dosage is likely to exceed 20 millisieverts per year. The annual limit for nuclear-plant workers in normal circumstances is 50 millisieverts (250 millisieverts in emergency conditions).

The euro steadied against major currencies in Asia on Wednesday after falling in the wake of talks between the leaders of France and Germany on the eurozone debt crisis. The single currency dipped at one point to $1.4352 in early Tokyo trade, compared with $1.4406 in New York overnight, before rebounding to $1.4405 in the afternoon. The euro fetched 110.49 yen against 110.67 yen in New York late Tuesday and 110.41 yen in Tokyo the previous day. The Swiss unit eased in afternoon trade, moving to 1.1522 per euro from 1.1434 in New York and 0.7998 francs per dollar against 0.7935. The dollar changed hands at 76.68 yen early Wednesday against 76.75 yen in New York and 76.74 yen in Tokyo Tuesday.

Samples of rice grown in a town near Tokyo showed no radioactive materials when tested, officials said on Wednesday, a relief for farmers preparing to ship Japan’s traditional food staple.

Concerns over food safety have grown after radiation from the smashed Fukushima Daiichi power plant has leaked across northern and eastern Japan since March, the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Some local authorities are testing their rice to see if it contains too much cesium.

Tokyo shares tumbled 2.11 per cent on Wednesday, their sharpest percentage loss since the March quake on a continued strong yen as weak US economic data overshadowed the US debt deal.

The market took a beating as a continued string of bad news from the US and Europe buoyed the safe-haven yen, keeping it around 77 to the US dollar – a level that dents the earnings of exporters.

Analysts say expectations are growing for the Bank of Japan to announce further easing measures at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Friday.

Japanese exporters’ shares came under pressure as the yen climbed back towards a four-month high against the dollar amid persistent concerns about the sovereign debt situations in the US and Europe.

The Nikkei 225 Average shed 0.9 per cent to 9,889.72 on relatively slim volume of 1.5bn shares. The broader Topix index lost 0.7 per cent to 853.75.

Canon , which receives more than three-quarters of its revenues from abroad, fell 2.8 per cent to Y3,680 and Honda Motor shed 2 per cent to Y3,145.

Asia’s Olympic chief has encouraged Tokyo in its anticipated second straight bid for the Summer Olympics after the South Korean resort of Pyeongchang won the 2018 Winter Games at the third attempt.

“If Tokyo is serious about the bid, however the result, we have to keep fighting for this bid,” Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said Wednesday.

“If we bid once, suspend the second and go for the third, this is a weak point,” he told Japan’s Kyodo news agency as he prepared to preside over OCA meetings in Tokyo.