Tokyo stocks close flat after central bank meet

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed flat Monday, dragged by a stronger yen while investors waited for fresh trading cues after a closely watched central bank meeting offered up few surprises.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged down 2.71 points to finish at 19,449.90, while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.20 percent, or 3.13 points, to 1,600.12.

The Japanese market rose at the start, tracking gains on Wall Street on Friday, but a stronger yen hit exporters.

"A strong yen is a worrying factor amid concerns about a further decline in the dollar on the back of uncertain US economic policies," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

The dollar stood at 109.13 yen, down from 109.30 yen in New York late Friday.

"The Nikkei index touched above the 19,500 level in early trading as the forex market was steady and after the Jackson Hole meeting ended without a hitch," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

"But after an initial round of buybacks, the index began to slow its ascent due to a lack of buying incentives," it added.

At the Jackson Hole symposium, US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen "didn't touch on the outlook (of the Fed's policy)", Shoji Hirakawa, chief global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, told Bloomberg News.

Yellen and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi scrupulously avoided making policy pronouncements that could unsettle markets.

Instead, Yellen defended regulations adopted after the 2008 financial meltdown, effectively rebutting White House calls for a rollback, while Draghi delivered a plea for maintaining trade liberalisation.

Among major Tokyo shares, game giant Nintendo jumped 2.21 percent to 36,840 yen, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, slipped 1.03 percent to 31,410 yen.

Panasonic slipped 0.30 percent to 1,450 yen while Sony dropped 0.19 percent to 4,191 yen.

Nissan was down 0.13 percent at 1,081 yen after Japan's Nikkei daily said the automaker plans to boost output at a plant in Britain by 20 percent and source more parts within the country bracing for its exit from the European Union.