TOKYO: Japanese stocks notched their lowest close in more than two months on Wednesday, tracking declines on Wall Street and amid broader Asian peers, as investors braced for key policy meetings this week from the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.

The Nikkei share average settled 1.36% lower at 27,313.13, its lowest closing level since July 19.

The broader Topix fell 1.36%, marking its weakest close since Sept. 7.

“If the Fed implements a 75-basis-point rate hike, as most people expect, the market should avoid upheaval,” said Yasushi Yokoyama of Aizawa Securities, adding that investors are already looking towards the next hike.

The Bank of Japan, however, is considered unlikely to stray from its dovish path. It is the only major central bank not to have hiked interest rates this year, even though inflation has stayed above the bank’s 2% target for five months straight.

“The upward price pressures are heavily biased toward food so far, and we thus believe that this August acceleration will not prompt a BoJ policy change,” JP Morgan economist Yuka Mera wrote in a research note.