Tokyo: Nikkei falls as yen firms after weak US data

[TOKYO] Japanese stocks fell on Wednesday after exporters and other cyclical shares took a hit on a strengthening yen as weak US service sector activity reduced the chances of a near-term interest rate increase by the US Federal Reserve.

Given the strength in the service sector has been making up for softness in US manufacturing in the past year or so, the data was a blow to the case for the Fed to raise interest rates as soon as this month.

The Nikkei ended 0.4 per cent lower at 17,012.44.

The broader Topix index dropped 0.2 per cent to 1,349.53, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 fell 0.3 per cent to 12,119.24.

REUTERS