Tokyo  - A stronger yen erased early gains on the Japanese markets Monday, sending Tokyo stocks down despite early investor optimism as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party was ousted from power after more than 50 years.

Japan's key Nikkei index hit an 11-month intraday high in early trading after the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan won a landslide victory in Sunday's House of Representatives election on a platform promising widespread reform.

But investors soon turned to selling mainly export-oriented issues as the US dollar weakened against the yen, which hurts Japanese firms' overseas earnings.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average dipped 41.61 points, or 0.4 per cent, to end at 10,492.53. The broader-based Topix index was also down 3.58 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 965.73.

On currency markets at noon (0300 GMT), the dollar traded at 92.65-70 yen, down from Friday's 5 pm quote of 93.92-93 yen.

The euro traded at 1.4290-95 dollars, down from late Friday's quote of 1.4331-33 dollars, and at 132.43-48 yen, down from 134.60-64 yen. (dpa)