Nikkei index is falling with the decline in US stock futures

The Nikkei fell on Wednesday, tracking lower US stock futures as investors digested hawkish rhetoric from the Federal Reserve (Central Bank of America) after the US inflation report.

A jump in US bond yields overnight contributed to the rise in Japanese bank stocks, but hurt real estate stocks.

The Nikkei index closed down 0.37 percent at 27,501.86 points, after rising 0.43 percent earlier in the session.

The broader Topix index lost 0.27 percent to close at 1987.74 points, after rising earlier to 1999.66, its highest level since December 1.

US stock futures fell 0.5 percent.

Consumer prices in the United States rose at the slowest rate since January, but at a faster rate than economists had expected. And both Patrick Harker, President of the Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and John Williams, President of the Reserve Bank of New York, said that the US central bank still had to work to rein in inflation.