TOKYO: Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index opened lower on Thursday as investors awaited the results of the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting to be announced during the day's trade.
The Nikkei 225 index was down 0.11 percent or 23.98 points at 22,176.02 in early trade, while the broader Topix index climbed just 0.01 percent or 0.15 points to 1,612.20.
The Nikkei soon rebounded back into positive territory but was up less than one percent about 30 minutes after the opening bell.
"Trade today is seen moving only slightly as there are positive and negative factors -- US stocks slipped while the yen is cheaper" against the dollar, Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary.
"The result of the Bank of Japan's policy board meeting is due to be announced at around noon, and the focus is how the Bank views inflation in the future, even though the monetary policy will likely remain unchanged," he said.
The dollar fetched 112.22 yen in early Asian trade, little changed from 112.36 yen in New York but higher than 111.80 yen in late Tokyo time on Wednesday.
In Tokyo, Hitachi was up 1.88 percent at 3,667 yen after reports said it is planning to sell one of its core businesses Hitachi Chemical.
Nissan was down 1.33 percent at 892.8 yen after the scandal-hit automaker issued a profit warning, downgrading its projection for net profit in the year to March 2019 from 410 billion yen ($3.7 billion) to 319 billion yen.
Its rival Toyota was up 0.44 percent at 6,922 yen.
Game giant Nintendo was up 1.52 percent at 38,580 yen ahead of its earnings report later on the day.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.2 percent at 26,597.05.
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