TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended lower on Thursday following falls on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve signalled more time was needed to cut interest rates.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.76 percent, or 275.25 points, to end at 36,011.46, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.67 percent, or 17.06 points, to 2,534.04.
The dollar fetched 146.92 yen, against 146.89 yen in New York late Wednesday.
The Fed voted to leave interest rates unchanged for the fourth-straight meeting while indicating it was moving towards future cuts — but probably not before May at the earliest.
Fed boss Jerome Powell said the US central bank was unlikely to lower interest rates in March.
In Tokyo, “the market was dragged down by receding expectations for early rate cuts as well as the yen’s further shift toward appreciation”, Daiwa Securities said.
Investors also “sold on profit-taking as they awaited the release of corporate earnings”, IwaiCosmo Securities said. SoftBank Group slipped 0.94 percent to 6,399 yen, Sony Group slid 2.07 percent to 14,390 yen and Toyota trimmed 1.83 percent to 2,945 yen. Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing lost 1.78 percent to 39,030 yen.
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