Tokyo stocks tread water by break ahead of Fed meet

TOKYO: Tokyo shares were flat Wednesday morning in cautious trade ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision after the benchmark Nikkei index hit its highest level in more than two years the previous day.

The Nikkei 225 index was down just 0.58 points at 20,298.80 by the break, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.03 percent, or 0.53 points, to 1,668.41.

Investors were taking a "wait-and-see attitude" ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary.

Analysts also warned the market remained vigilant on geopolitical factors after President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric on North Korea, threatening to "totally destroy" the country if it does not back down on its nuclear ambitions.

Traders were taking a breather after the Nikkei index on Tuesday climbed nearly two percent to close at its highest level since August 2015, breaking the psychologically important 20,000 mark.

"The market has paused after feeling a sense of accomplishment yesterday," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

The dollar traded at 111.51 yen in Asian trade, compared with 111.60 yen in New York.

Nintendo jumped 4.20 percent to 42,670 yen by the break, consolidating its gains from Tuesday, when its stock surged more than seven percent on strong sales prospects for its Switch games console.

Other key exporters were mixed. Toyota slipped 0.13 percent to 6,720 yen while Nissan edged up 0.13 percent to 1,154.5 yen.

Sony dropped 1.72 percent to 4,220 yen but its rival Panasonic rose 1.54 percent to 1,677 yen.