Tokyo stocks close lower

Tokyo stocks closed lower on Monday, with investors risk-averse ahead of a European Central Bank meeting where policymakers are poised to deliver another rate hike to tame price rises.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.11 per cent, or 31.23 points, to end at 27,619.61, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.07 per cent, or 1.38 points, to 1,928.79.

The dollar fetched 140.40 yen, against 140.16 yen in New York on Friday.

The market in Japan tracked falls on Wall Street, where sentiment worsened after Russia said it would keep a key gas pipeline to Germany offline.

Adding to the sentiment is the ECB meeting later this week, with board member Isabel Schnabel saying the bank needed to show "determination" to tackle soaring inflation.

"Investors are left hard-pressed to move toward aggressively buying" shares, Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

But there was positive support from the continued falls of the yen which continued to hover around 140 against the dollar, and "is helping bolster the export sector", the brokerage added.

Among major shares in Tokyo, SoftBank Group edged up 0.07 per cent to 5,497 yen.