Tokyo stocks reversed earlier gains on Tuesday to close lower as an initially upbeat mood following hopes of U.S. economic growth turned sour following the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) launch of a missile.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 23.45 points, or 0.12 percent, from Monday to close the day at 20,032.35.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, dropped 4.71 points, or 0.29 percent, to finish at 1,609.70.

Service, air transportation and electric appliance-linked issues comprised those that declined the most by the closing bell, and declining issues outpaced advancing ones by 1,374 to 530 on the First Section.

Trading volume on the main section on Tuesday came to 1,857.72 million shares, up from Monday's volume of 1,601.09 million shares.

The turnover on the second trading day of the week totaled 2,505.3 billion yen (22.19 billion U.S. dollars).