Telequote, (18/6) -- Tokyo stocks lost 0.20 percent on Tuesday
ahead of the start of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting as investors
look for clues on the future of its massive stimulus drive.
The
benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose 2.73 percent the previous day,
closed down 25.84 points to 13,007.28, but the Topix index of all
first-section shares rose 0.15 percent, or 1.68 points, to 1,086.40.
'The
market is due for some profit-taking, but valuations are technically
attractive at current price levels, which should provide decent downside
support,' said SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities
Hiroichi Nishi.
Tokyo's dip into negative territory comes after
Wall Street got a lift from better-than-expected data on the US housing
market and New York-area manufacturing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
finished up 0.73 percent at 15,179 on Monday.
But the focus remains
on a Federal Reserve statement and chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks after
the Fed's policy-setting committee wraps up a two-day meeting
Wednesday.
Speculation buzzed about whether the US central bank
will announce a tightening of its $85 billion-a-month asset-buying
program, known as quantitative easing, which has been credited with
helping support global equity markets.
A Financial Times report
said that Bernanke would likely signal the Fed is close to tapering the
purchases but would temper that with arguing a move would depend on
conditions in the world's largest economy.
A mixed bag of US data
recently has pointed to an uncertain recovery with many analysts
predicting the Fed would hold off cutting back on the purchases for the
time being.
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