Tokyo stocks down at break, Fed rate decision in focus

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks fell on Wednesday morning with energy firms down on weak oil prices as investors await the conclusion of a Federal Reserve meeting, while loss-hit Toshiba plunged on fears over its future.

While the US central bank is all considered odds-on to tighten borrowing costs, traders are most interested in what its plans are for future hikes; with boss Janet Yellen's post-meeting comments the main focus.

"With attention glued to the pace of Fed rate hikes, trading in Japanese shares has been muted," Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.

The dollar changed hands at ¥114.80 against ¥114.77 in New York.

Weak oil prices also dampened investor sentiment, despite crude bouncing back from Tuesday's sharp losses.

"It seems like a tough environment for crude prices to trend higher with Opec's agreement about a supply curtailment not showing progress, while US shale gas production is expanding," Seiki Orimi, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, told Bloomberg News.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index slipped 57.78 points, to 19 551.72 by the break while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 5.68 points, at 1 569.22.

Toshiba dived 7.31% to ¥200.1 as doubts grow over its revival plan in the wake of huge losses and an accounting fraud probe at its US nuclear unit.

The firm on Tuesday won regulatory approval to delay releasing its earnings for a second time, saying it needed to probe claims of misconduct by senior managers at Westinghouse Electric and gauge the impact on its finances.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has put Toshiba "under supervision" over concerns about its internal management controls; a designation that means the stock is at risk of being delisted.

"The designation dampened sentiment... as the bourse called (Toshiba's) internal management into question," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, told AFP.

Credit Suisse analyst Hideyuki Maekawa added that it was "hard to determine the potential bottom for the company's balance sheet given the numerous lingering uncertainties".

Sony fell 1.01% to ¥3 598 while Canon edged up 0.11% to ¥3 479. Energy explorer Inpex fell 1.69% to ¥1 103 while Japan Petroleum dropped 2.18% to ¥2 596.