TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei average is likely to move narrowly on Wednesday, Sept 22'' amid mixed sentiment about the Federal Reserve's latest statement on the U.S. economy, and ahead of a national holiday in Japan on Thursday.
Investors had hoped that with recent improvements in economic data, the Fed would issue a more upbeat outlook or clarify the measures it would take to stimulate demand.
But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has ratcheted up the central bank's focus on the threat of deflation that, combined with a grimmer take on the economy hinting at lower growth projections, appeared to clear the way for a new phase of bond buying, or quantitative easing.
The statement helped send the dollar lower against the yen.
The Fed kept overnight interest rates unchanged near zero, as had been expected.
"Though the yen strengthened after the Fed announcement, moves in the currency market appear to have settled down for now, and the decision on interest rates was basically as expected," said Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
"I'd say the impact on the stock market today will be limited, especially given the holiday tomorrow."
The dollar was flat at 85.10 yen in early Asian trade. Prime Minister Naoto Kan was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that intervention in foreign exchange markets was "unavoidable" if there were drastic changes in the currency.
On the technical charts, the outlook for the benchmark Nikkei is mixed. On Tuesday it briefly edged above resistance near 9,660, which is right around the top of the cloud on daily Ichimoku charts. A clear break of that level would be a bullish sign.
But its relative strength index (RSI) stood at 61, with anything from 70 and above oversold, while its slow stochastic dipped.
The benchmark is likely to trade between 9,500 and 9,700 after closing at 9,602.11 on Tuesday. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 9,575, just slightly higher than the Osaka close.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest bank by assets, may come in for attention after a senior executive said it was looking to buy a 15 to 20 percent stake in a bank in South Korea, Australia or Indonesia to tap the region's growing economy.
Sharp Corp said on Tuesday that it plans to buy privately-held U.S. solar power company Recurrent Energy for up to $305 million, expanding Sharp's footprint in the solar field. - Reuters
Investors had hoped that with recent improvements in economic data, the Fed would issue a more upbeat outlook or clarify the measures it would take to stimulate demand.
But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has ratcheted up the central bank's focus on the threat of deflation that, combined with a grimmer take on the economy hinting at lower growth projections, appeared to clear the way for a new phase of bond buying, or quantitative easing.
The statement helped send the dollar lower against the yen.
The Fed kept overnight interest rates unchanged near zero, as had been expected.
"Though the yen strengthened after the Fed announcement, moves in the currency market appear to have settled down for now, and the decision on interest rates was basically as expected," said Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
"I'd say the impact on the stock market today will be limited, especially given the holiday tomorrow."
The dollar was flat at 85.10 yen in early Asian trade. Prime Minister Naoto Kan was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that intervention in foreign exchange markets was "unavoidable" if there were drastic changes in the currency.
On the technical charts, the outlook for the benchmark Nikkei is mixed. On Tuesday it briefly edged above resistance near 9,660, which is right around the top of the cloud on daily Ichimoku charts. A clear break of that level would be a bullish sign.
But its relative strength index (RSI) stood at 61, with anything from 70 and above oversold, while its slow stochastic dipped.
The benchmark is likely to trade between 9,500 and 9,700 after closing at 9,602.11 on Tuesday. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 9,575, just slightly higher than the Osaka close.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest bank by assets, may come in for attention after a senior executive said it was looking to buy a 15 to 20 percent stake in a bank in South Korea, Australia or Indonesia to tap the region's growing economy.
Sharp Corp said on Tuesday that it plans to buy privately-held U.S. solar power company Recurrent Energy for up to $305 million, expanding Sharp's footprint in the solar field. - Reuters
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