Japan’s Nikkei closed lower ahead of Fed Chairman’s speech

Japan’s Nikkei trimmed its gains to close lower on Tuesday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech, but a slew of corporate earnings left the market directionless.

The Nikkei index fell 0.03 percent to close at 27,685.47 points, and cut the fourth consecutive winning session, after trading remained during most of the session in the positive area.

The broader Topix index rose 0.21 percent to 1,983.40 points.

Investors are awaiting Powell’s speech later on Tuesday to monitor any change in the US central bank’s rhetoric, after last week’s data showed strong job growth and strong service activity in January.

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing fell 0.52 percent and hit the Nikkei the most. Technology investment group SoftBank lost 1.01 percent and recruitment agency Recruit Holdings plunged 1.63 percent.

The steel sector fell 2.95 percent, making it the worst performance among 33 sub-indicators for sectors.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rose 3.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.