TOKYO—Japanese shares fell Wednesday as investors sold commodity stocks, although investors were cautious ahead of an announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest rates.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average index dropped 44.38 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,849.99.
Analysts said investors were taking a wait-and-see stance as the Fed was to wrap up a two-day meeting later in the day.
Financial markets widely expected that the discussions would end with an announcement that the U.S. central bank would cut a key interest rate by a quarter-point.
"Investors are going to look at the tone set by the U.S. Fed but the strength in the dollar has been one reason we're seeing a cool-off in trading houses and other commodity stocks," said Akio Yoshino, market economist at Societe Generale Asset Management in Tokyo.
Sentiment was also sluggish as Japan's industrial output fell 3.1 percent in March from February, the first decline in two months.
That was far worse than a 0.7 percent decline expected by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires and Nikkei.
The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues declined 3.10 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,358.65.
Shares in Japan's top oil company, Nippon Oil Corp., fell 5.8 percent to 713 yen. Major trading house Itochu Corp. declined 4.1 percent to 1,085 yen.
In currencies, the dollar was quoted at 103.90 yen midafternoon in Tokyo trade, down from 104.17 yen late Tuesday in New York. The euro was quoted at US$1.5576, up from US$1.5564.
