TOKYO: Japanese stocks ended marginally higher on Wednesday on expectations that the US Federal Reserve would reinforce its commitment to keeping rates low at a meeting later in the day.

The Nikkei 225 Index finished trade up 0.09% at 23,475.53, with the telecommunications and healthcare sectors leading gains. The broader Topix rose 0.21% to 1,644.35.

The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix names were investment manager SoftBank Group Corp, up 4.64%, followed by drugs maker Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, which jumped 2.6%.

The underperformers among the Topix 30 were automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd, down 2.59% as the yen's rise to an almost three-week high against the dollar hurt exporters. The second-biggest decliner was Central Japan Railway Co losing 2.35%.

There were 48 advancers in the Nikkei index against 173 decliners.