Japan Stocks Fall as BOJ Meets After Fed Signals Gradual Hikes

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Japanese stocks fell as investors await a Bank of Japan policy decision after the Federal Reserve signaled the pace of U.S. interest-rate increases will be slow even as it prepares to raise borrowing costs this year.

The Topix slipped 0.2 percent to 1,631.01 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.2 percent to 20,180.46. The BOJ begins a two-day meeting Thursday in Tokyo, with all 35 economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecasting Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will keep policy on hold.

The Fed maintained its forecast for the benchmark rate to rise to 0.625 percent this year, while lowering its projection for 2016. Although officials bolstered their assessment of the labor market and economy, Chair Janet Yellen said they want to see more decisive evidence on growth, and that she anticipates only gradual increases in borrowing costs will be warranted.

Source : Bloomberg