TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of the US central bank policy meeting while the Japanese mobile unit of SoftBank Group flopped on its debut.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.23 percent or 48.63 points to 21,066.82 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.21 percent or 3.27 points at 1,559.24.
“A wait-and-see mood will likely grow ahead of the outcome of an FOMC meeting which is expected to be out in early hours of Thursday in Japan,” Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
Analysts are also watching for Wednesday’s Fed decision, which comes amid intense pressure from President Donald Trump on the US central bank to keep rates low.
“Hopes for rate rises in 2019 are dwindling… The dollar is dropping against the yen, hurting investor sentiment in Tokyo,” said Seiichi Suzuki, senior market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.
A stronger yen is negative for Japanese exporters as it makes their products less competitive abroad and erodes the value of profits when repatriated.
The dollar was trading at 112.43 yen against 112.51 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon.
Shares in SoftBank’s mobile unit traded well below the IPO price on Wednesday in a disappointing debut on the Tokyo stock market for the Japanese telecoms giant.
A spokesman for the firm confirmed it had raised around 2.65 trillion yen via the IPO, making it Japan’s largest as expected, but investor appetite at the bell was muted, the stock opening at 1,463 yen ($13), down from the 1,500 yen IPO price.
In trade in other individual shares, oil explorer Inpex fell 5.54 percent to 1,024 yen amid rapidly plunging petroleum prices.
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