TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed lower on Wednesday on profit-taking after rallies in the previous session, as investors watched corporate earnings and Japan's upcoming general election.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index inched down 0.03 percent or 7.77 points to end at 29,098.24, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.23 percent or 4.59 points to 2,013.81.
"The Nikkei was pushed down by profit-taking with investors in a wait-and-see mode ahead of the upcoming elections" on October 31, Okasan Online Securities said.
"The direction of the Nikkei index is decided by the results of corporate earnings. In that sense, the earnings season, soon hitting full swing, is very important," said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities.
Airline ANA Holdings slid 1.19 percent to 2,648 yen after a report said it was expected to book an operating loss of around 110 billion yen ($960 million) for the April-September half.
Its rival Japan Airlines fell 1.75 percent to 2,413 yen.
SoftBank Group tumbled 3.36 percent to 6,281 yen while Sony dropped 2.27 percent to 13,105 yen.
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing jumped 1.84 percent to 74,890 yen.
The dollar fetched 114.00 yen in Asian trade against 114.14 yen in New York late Tuesday.
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