Tokyo stocks close up 0.23pc

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed 0.23 percent higher on Wednesday helped by broad-based gains on other Asian bourses, with players cautiously awaiting the outcome of the US central bank's policy meeting.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 19.92 points to 8,741.16. The Topix index of all first-section issues gained 0.28 percent or 2.09 points to 757.13.

After moving aimlessly around the previous day's closing levels, the index gained ground in the afternoon as regional markets fared relatively well.

But trading volume was thin as investors retreated to the sidelines to await the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting amid hopes for fresh stimulus.

"I don't see players taking a clear investment stance (ahead of the FOMC)," Hitsatsune Kobayashi, general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Kobayashi added that many Japanese players are likely away with only three trading sessions this week with Monday and Friday being holidays.

Many market participants were already expecting the Fed to decide to buy long-dated Treasuries, brokers said.

The focus was likely to be on "how effectively the outcome supports market sentiment," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager of investment strategy at Daiwa Securities.

"That's OK, as long as we don't have a negative surprise," he said.

Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, said stocks were unlikely to move much if the outcome was in line with expectations.

"The US economy is unstable, but the European economy is even more unstable. The market continues to react to any subtle developments in European sovereign debt problems," he said.

Toyota gave up its earlier gains to end down 0.48 percent at 2,672 yen after the auto giant said it was temporarily shutting 11 of its 15 Japanese plants, which lie in the path of a powerful typhoon that made landfall in the afternoon.

Euro-sensitive Olympus soared 4.28 percent to 2,287 yen on hopes that an agreement on Greek aid would be reached next week.

The dollar was trading at 76.33 yen against 76.39 yen in New York late Tuesday, after briefly falling to around 76.10 yen, a little off the postwar low of 75.95 that it touched in August.

The euro was flat at $1.3702 but edged down to 104.59 yen from 104.66.

Currency rates hardly moved after the finance ministry released trade data showing Japan logged a much larger-than-expected trade deficit in August as imports soared.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011