Tokyo stocks open lower ahead of US Fed meet

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday, extending falls on Wall Street as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.36 percent or 104.66 points at 29,336.64 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.09 percent or 1.80 points to 1,973.68.

"Japanese shares are seen starting with losses after US shares dropped" ahead of the Fed meeting, market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said in a note.

Investors have been trying to balance optimism over some major economies' reopening with fears that the Fed could soon begin tapering its easy money policy.

"While no one expects much from the (Fed) meeting, Chair (Jerome) Powell will be questioned persistently about whether the Fed is talking about tapering," Tapas Strickland, senior analyst at National Australia Bank, said in a note.

In Tokyo, Sony was down 1.95 percent at 10,800 yen while game giant Nintendo dropped 3.40 percent to 62,860 yen after its presentation at trade show E3 included no details of a new Switch console.

Automakers were among winners, with Toyota trading up 1.74 percent at 10,250 yen and Honda up 0.41 percent at 3,541 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.3 percent at 34,299.33.

The dollar fetched 110.07 yen in early Asian trade, against 110.06 yen in New York late Tuesday.