TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed down 1.45 percent on profit-taking Wednesday after the previous day's gains, with the latest batch of corporate earnings figures failing to stoke buying interest.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose 1.53 percent on Tuesday after four days of losses, eased 201.50 points to 13,668.32.
The Topix index of all first-section shares slipped 1.47 percent, or 16.83 points, to 1,131.70.
"The latest batch of earnings reports were not at all that bad, but still not enough to inspire the broader market," said Monex market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama.
Investors trod cautiously as they await the end of a Federal Reserve policy meeting later Wednesday, looking for clues about when it will begin to wind down its stimulus programme.
Also in focus is the release of April-June gross domestic product data in the US, which also comes on Wednesday.
"The fact that the market is technically oversold is not a factor at the moment, as all eyes are on the US Fed's policy announcement, GDP and jobs data," an equity trading director at a foreign brokerage told Dow Jones Newswires.
On currency markets the dollar was at 97.82 yen, compared with 98.02 yen in New York late Tuesday, while the euro fetched $1.3251 and 129.61 yen compared with $1.3264 and 130.02 yen.
Major exporters were down, with Honda slipping 2.15 percent to 3,630 yen and Nintendo down 4.97 percent at 12,420 yen ahead of their earnings reports later in the day.
All Nippon Airways slipped 3.34 percent to 202 yen after reporting a swing to a net loss in its April-June quarter. Hitachi jumped 2.81 percent to 658 yen after reporting robust earnings.
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