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Staff of Reuters Read for 2 minutes (Reuters) – TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) – On Wednesday, Japanese stocks fell after two days of gains, as investors hedged their bets ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional appearance. The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.38 percent to 28,608.49, while the Topix index down 0.23 percent to 1,963.16. The Nikkei has gained 2.4 percent this week, while the Topix has gained nearly 2.7 percent. “Following the market’s recent high gains, investors are locking in their profits. However, the market will remain calm until we observe market indicators from company results reports “Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of IwaiCosmo Securities’ investment research department, agreed. “As investors anticipate Powell’s testimony, which will take place after U.S. consumer prices surged substantially, the market is also moving in a tight range.” Last month, consumer prices in the United States increased by the highest in 13 years, while core consumer prices increased by 4.5 percent year over year, the most since November 1991. Powell’s hearing on Wednesday and Thursday is being closely watched for his remarks on rising pricing pressures and future monetary stimulus. Shippers led drops in Japan, with the Kawasaki Kisen plunging 4.14 percent, the Nikkei’s worst decrease. Bridgestone sank 3.87 percent, while ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines fell 2.42 percent and 3.19 percent, respectively. After raising its annual profit projection, Yaskawa Electric slumped 2.11 percent, reversing a 3.14 percent rise earlier this week. Toho jumped 11.09 percent after the film and entertainment firm reported a nearly quadrupling of operating earnings in the most recent quarter. With a rise of 1.74 percent, Takeda Pharmaceutical led the top 30 core Topix names, followed by Recruit Holdings with a gain of 1.51 percent. Hitachi was the biggest loser among the top 30 core Topix names, falling 3.02 percent, followed by Fanuc, which fell 1.82 percent. Junko Fujita contributed reporting, and Uttaresh.V and Rashmi Aich edited the piece./nRead More

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