Asian stocks edge up ahead of Japan, US

Asian stock markets edged up in early trading Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines, awaiting a raft of key indicators including Japan's business confidence survey and U.S. jobs data later in the week.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index gained 53.43 points, or 0.6 percent, to 9,747.37. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4 percent to 1,738.68, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3 percent to 4,420.60.

Investors were reluctant to chase gais in lackluster Asian trading following an overnight fall on Wall Street Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 5.29 points, or 0.1 percent, to 10,138.52.

Sentiment was sluggish in Tokyo as data showed Tuesday Japan's factory output declined 0.1 percent in May and the country's unemployment rate climbed to 5.2 percent in May from 5.1 percent in April.

With few fresh leads across Asia, investors were taking a wait-and-see stance ahead of Thursday's release of the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey of business sentiment and Friday's U.S. jobs data.