The U.S. Federal Reserve will reveal the outcome of its policy meeting Wednesday, while the European Central Bank is slated to announce its policy gathering results Thursday. Investors will be looking for clues about how much higher the central bank will take rates in the fight against inflation.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average index declined 106.29 points, or 0.39%, to finish at 27,327.11. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined 7.13 points, or 0.36%, to 1,975.27.
Among individual stocks, Canon fell 1.8% to 2,893.0 yen after its earnings outlook for the current business year ending December released Monday, disappointed investors.
Chubu Electric surged 8.6% to 1,398 yen on growing earnings optimism after Chubu Electric Power Co. said it is expecting a net profit of 50 billion yen in the year ending March due to falling energy costs.
Nissan Motor advanced 2.1% to 463.3 yen after announcing that Renault SA will reduce its stake in the Japanese automaker through a trust company "in a coordinated and orderly process," reassuring investors the share price will not tank.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan Unemployment Rate Stable At 2.5% In December-The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.5% in December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication said on Tuesday. That was in line with forecasts and unchanged from the November reading. The participation rate was 62.3%, missing forecasts for 62.4%, which would have been unchanged. The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.35. unchanged from the previous month but missing forecasts for 1.34.
Japan's Industrial Production Falls 0.1% In December- Industrial production in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 0.1% on month in December, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday. On a yearly basis, industrial production slumped 2.8%, missing forecasts for a fall of 2% following the 0.9% gain in the previous month. Industries that contributed to the decline included business-oriented machinery, iron and steel, and electrical machinery. These were offset by support from transport equipment, motor vehicles and production machinery. Shipments were down 0.7% on month and 3% on year, while inventories fell 0.5% on month and added 3.2% on year and the inventory ratio added 1.2% on month and 9.8% on year. According to the METI's forecast for industrial production, output is expected to be flat in January and up 4.1% in February.
CURRENCY NEWS: The yen stood at 130.34 against US dollar, appreciated 0.1% from previous day close of 130.44, after trading in the range between 130.05-130.54, on the view that the Bank of Japan could further tweak its monetary policy.
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