Tokyo stocks end lower

Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday after Wall Street shares slumped, with investors risk-averse ahead of a three-day weekend in Japan and a key Federal Reserve meeting next week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 1.11 per cent, or 308.26 points, to end at 27,567.65, while the broader Topix index lost 0.61 per cent, or 11.87 points, at 1,938.56.

The dollar fetched 143.54 yen, against 143.45 yen in New York on Thursday.

Investors in Tokyo found it difficult to aggressively take positions ahead of the long weekend and the Fed’s policy-setting meeting next week, Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, told AFP.

The latest US consumer price data showing widespread inflation has solidified expectations that the Federal Reserve will announce a third consecutive three-quarter-point interest rate increase at its policy meeting next week.

The drop in the tech-rich Nasdaq on Wall Street also prompted sell-offs, particularly among growth stocks in Japan, Suzuki added.

The Nasdaq was particularly weighed down by Adobe, which dropped a precipitous 16.9 per cent after agreeing to acquire Figma, an Internet-based collaborative design platform, for $20 billion in cash and stock.