TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average inched lower on Wednesday, led by declines in auto and tyre makers, as investors locked in profits ahead of the Bank of Japan’s two-day policy meeting this week.

The Nikkei index inched down 0.04% to close at 32,668.34.

The broader Topix slipped 0.1% to 2,283.09.

“There were no negative cues to sell stocks. Investors were just cautious ahead of the central bank decision,” said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.

“We are also in the middle of the corporate earnings season, which prompted investors to hold off their active bets.”

The BOJ is leaning towards keeping its yield control policy unchanged as policymakers prefer to scrutinise more data to ensure wages and inflation keep rising.

Market participants were not fully convinced that the BOJ would maintain its current policy at the July 27-28 meeting, as they remember a surprise tweak in the yield curve control in December when it widened the trading band of the benchmark 10-year bond yield.

On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said the BOJ should start preparing for future monetary tightening by moving away from its yield control policy.

Tyre makers lost 1.31% and was the worst performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes.

Bridgestone lost 1.27% and Yokohama Rubber fell 2.22%. Automakers lost 1.12%, with Isuzu Motors falling 1.77%.

Tokyo stocks close up, Nikkei hits fresh 33-year high

Subaru lost 1.93% and Mazda Motor slipped 1.72%. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest slipped 1.68% to become the biggest drag for the Nikkei.

Air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries fell 0.97%.

Bucking the trend, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 0.99%, while technology investor SoftBank Group gained 0.9%.