Tokyo: Stocks close down 1.13% on stronger yen

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks dropped 1.13 per cent Thursday, hit by a stronger yen as investors await the outcome of a Bank of Japan policy meeting and after the US Federal Reserve said it would be cautious on interest rate hikes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 228.45 points to 19,990.82, ending below the psychologically important 20,000 mark for the first time in a month.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 1.04 per cent, or 17.04 points, to 1,616.66.

AFP