PrintJapan's Nikkei tracks Wall Street lower, drops over 2%
BY Reuters | ECONOMIC | 08:43 PM EDTTOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average slipped more than 2% on Thursday, following sharp losses on Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, while domestic investors awaited the Bank of Japan's decision due later in the day.
The Nikkei was down 2.6% at 53,780.44, as of 0020 GMT, while the broader Topix slipped 1.82% to 3,649.82.
"Japanese stock market tracked the weakness of U.S. shares overnight, and the market still weighed the impact of the Middle East conflict, but the declines will be temporary," said Hiroyuki Ueno, chief strategist, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Wednesday after the Fed stood pat on rates and projected only a single reduction for the year as officials took stock of economic risks from surging oil prices and the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
Shares related to Japanese chipmakers and artificial
intelligence dropped on Thursday, with Advantest
The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its interest rates steady after it concludes a two-day policy meeting, as it awaits more clarity on the economic impact of the Middle East conflict.
"The market is not seeing the BOJ's decision as a market-moving cue today. BOJ Governor (Kazuo) Ueda is expected to repeat what he has been saying about the future rate path," said Ueno. (Reporting by Junko Fujiat, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
