Investors also refrained from making bold moves to sees how the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will fare in Sunday's general election as uncertainty grew after the LDP lost one of two House of Councillors by-elections last weekend.
The market largely shrugged off the Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc announcement of regular trading hour extension by 30 minutes to make the bourse more competitive internationally,
At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 7.77 points, or 0.03%, to 29,098.24. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 4.59 points, or 0.23%, to 2,013.81. Trading volume turnover on the main section stood at 1.14 billion shares worth 2.62 trillion yen.
Total 24 of 33 industry groups of the Topix ended down, with worst performing sector were Marine Transportation (down 3.9%), Air Transportation (down 1.4%), Electric Power & Gas (down 1.4%), Information & Communication (down 1.3%), Nonferrous Metals (down 1.2%), and Electric Appliances (down 1%), while best performing issues included Transportation Equipment (up 0.9%), Foods (up 0.8%), Insurance (up 0.8%), and Chemicals (up 0.7%).
Canon shares tumbled after the digital camera and office equipment maker cut its operating profit forecast for its business year through December.
Airline ANA Holdings shares declined after a report that it is expected to book an operating loss of around 110 billion yen for the April-September half.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen appreciated to upper 113 level against greenback on Wednesday. The Japanese yen traded at 113.72 per dollar, stronger than levels around 114.2 seen earlier against the greenback.
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