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Roundup: Nikkei edges down 0.04 pct on action ahead of Fed, BOJ meetings

Xinhua, March 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Nikkei stock index lost 0.04 percent Monday, bringing an end to a three-day winning streak as trading was circumspect ahead of both a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and a Bank of Japan policy meeting later this week.

The Nikkei 225 index lost 8.19 points to finish at 19,246.06, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 2.12 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 1,558.21.

Brokers here said that the market got off to a poor start due to weak lead from Wall Street at the end of last week and instances of profit-taking following the market's recent rise also ensured gains would be capped.

They added that investors were also in a wait-and-see-mood ahead of the Fed's meeting starting Tuesday and the Bank of Japan' s latest policy statement set to be released the same day.

While the BOJ has said it has no imminent plans to further ease policy as it believes it is on track to hit its inflation target of 2 percent, some economists believe that the Fed may indicate plans to hike its key interest rate earlier than expected, owing to reasonably solid macroeconomic data of late.

"According to standard expectations there will probably be no major BOJ actions, but as they tend to move when you're least expecting it, it's difficult to tell. How they comment on the fact that inflation is nearly at zero will be watched by the market," said Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co.

While air transportation issues gained, with ANA Holdings Inc. rising 1.8 percent to 336 yen and Japan Airlines Co. gaining 1 percent to 3,980 yen, oil-related issues dropped as crude prices fell to an intraday low not seen for more than 5 years.

Oil exploration firm Index sank 4.3 percent to 1,344 yen, while Japan Drilling Co. fell 1.1 percent to 4,065 yen. JX Holdings, meanwhile, relinquished 1.6 percent to end the day at 476 yen.

Toyo Tire was a notable decliner Monday, tumbling 13 percent to 2,424 yen, following an announcement that some rubber-laminated bearings it sells don't meet criteria for earthquake protection.

Trading volume on Monday dropped to 1.97 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from Friday's volume of 3.19 billion shares, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones by 955 to 790. Endi