TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed lower on Wednesday after the Dow dropped on Wall Street, with investors awaiting fresh market-moving events.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.96 percent, or 276.26 points, to end at 28,366.95, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.86 percent, or 16.82 points, to 1,937.68.

"The Nikkei dropped sharply at the open following losses of the Dow," Okasan Online Securities said.

"In the afternoon, the market struggled to find a direction as investors looked for fresh clues."

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.6 percent at 34,577.37 and the broad-based S&P fell 0.2 percent after last week's records. The tech-rich Nasdaq closed up 0.2 percent.

In Tokyo trading, Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing dropped 1.11 percent to 80,960 yen while SoftBank Group slid 0.61 percent to 7,419 yen.

Automakers were lower, with Toyota losing 0.61 percent to 9,734 yen, Honda sinking 1.00 percent to 3,560 yen and Nissan dropping 1.89 percent to 584.2 yen.

The dollar fetched 110.66 yen in Asian trade against 110.61 yen in New York on Tuesday.