TOKYO: Tokyo shares closed 0.76 percent lower on Thursday as the yen remained strong, despite a decision by the US central bank to keep its easy money policies in place to bolster the world's biggest economy.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended down 105.31 points at 13,694.04, while the Topix index of all first-section shares fell 0.44 percent, or 5.09 points, to 1,153.28.
"Foreign investor interest remains strong, but it has eased back without overarching buy catalysts of late," said Kenichi Hirano, market analyst at Tachibana Securities.
"So players will be looking to take profits and adjust positions based on individual corporate earnings and forecasts, more than anything else," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
Trading volume was relatively light ahead of a four-day weekend, with Japanese markets closed Friday and Monday for holidays.
Japan's corporate earnings season then resumes with the likes of Sony, Nissan, Panasonic and Toyota reporting fiscal full-year earnings.
Weakness in the Tokyo market Thursday came as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.94 percent to 14,700.95 on Wednesday following weak employment and manufacturing data.
After a two-day policy meeting, the Federal Reserve kept its $85 billion a month bond-buying programme in place, and left open the door to more purchases if the US economy slows under Washington's severe budget cuts.
European Central Bank policymakers are to meet on Thursday with widespread speculation that they could cut interest rates from current record lows and also unveil new measures to kick-start stymied bank lending.
Markets were also watching the state of the Chinese economy after fresh data Wednesday pointed to a slight slowdown in April manufacturing activity.
In Tokyo afternoon forex trade, the dollar slipped to 97.29 yen from 97.40 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon, while the euro weakened to 128.01 yen from 128.37 yen.
A strengthening yen tends to weigh on the Japanese market as it makes the country's exporters less competitive overseas.
Toyota shares fell 1.08 percent to 5,490 yen, Nissan was down 2.00 percent to 979 yen, while Sony firmed 2.77 percent to 1,627 yen after it said Wednesday that dozens of top executives would give up their annual bonus. (AFP)
