TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened flat on Wednesday in cautious trade amid uncertainty over US-China trade talks as investors await the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down just 0.03% or 5.78 points at 21,561.07 in early trade while the broader Topix index was down 0.04% or 0.62 points at 1,609.61.
“Japanese shares are seen trading without a sense of clear direction with eyes on the Fed meeting and the development of the talks on Britain’s exit from the EU,“ Okasan Online Securities strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.
A wait-and-see attitude prevailed ahead of a public holiday in Japan on Thursday and active speculation about US-China trade talks, he added.
The dollar fetched 111.45 yen in early Asian trade, against 111.40 yen in New York.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will return to Beijing next week as the United States and China inch toward resolving their trade war, a senior administration official told AFP on Tuesday.
After next week’s talks in Beijing, Chinese trade envoy Liu He will return to Washington the following week, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that officials said talks were in their final stages.
But the South China Morning Post said the trade deal may be pushed back to June, while other reports have said issues over the troubled Boeing 737 MAX may complicate the trade talks.
In Tokyo, Nintendo was down 2.54% at 30,690 yen and Sony was down 3.83% at 4,928 yen after US tech giant Google said it is releasing a Stadia platform that will let game players stream blockbuster titles to any device they wish.
The online giant also unveiled a new controller and its own studio.
Elsewhere, Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 1.26% at 4,804 yen, Toyota was up 0.45% at 6,693 yen while SoftBank Group was down 0.41% at 10,965 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.1% at 25,887.38. — AFP
