Tokyo stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of the US central bank policy meeting while the Japanese mobile unit of SoftBank Group flopped on its debut. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.60 percent, or 127.53 points, to end at 20,987.92, while the broader Topix index was down 0.41 percent, or 6.36 points, at 1,556.15.
"The Nikkei index slipped again as investors are in a wait-and-see mode ahead of FOMC (Federal Reserve meeting) and the yen strengthened," Okasan Online Securities said in a note. "It was also affected by SoftBank shares trading below the IPO price on its debut," Okasan said.
Shares in SoftBank's mobile unit traded well below the IPO price on Wednesday in a disappointing debut on the Tokyo stock market for the Japanese telecoms giant. A spokesman for the firm confirmed it had raised around 2.65 trillion yen via the IPO, making it Japan's largest as expected, but investor appetite at the bell was muted, the stock closing at 1,282 yen ($11.4), 14.5-percent lower than the price set for its initial public offering.
The dollar was trading at 112.36 yen against 112.51 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon. A stronger yen is negative for Japanese exporters as it makes their products less competitive abroad and erodes the value of profits when repatriated. Analysts are also watching for Wednesday's Fed decision, which comes amid intense pressure from President Donald Trump on the US central bank to keep rates low.
In Tokyo share trading, oil explorer Inpex dropped 7.19 percent to 1,006 yen amid rapidly plunging petroleum prices. Nintendo lost 3.19 percent to 30,000 yen and Sony fell 0.57 percent to 5,550 yen.