Staff of Reuters Read for 2 minutes (Reuters) – TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) – On Wednesday, Japanese stocks dipped after two days of gains, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional appearance. By 0212 GMT, the Nikkei stock average had fallen 0.26 percent to 28,641.62, while the wider Topix had fallen 0.05 percent to 1,966.75. The Nikkei has already gained 2.5 percent this week, while the Topix has gained over 2.9 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. Tire manufacturers led the way down in Japan, with Yokohama Rubber down 3.67 percent and Bridgestone down 3.21 percent. Airlines also declined 2.57 percent, with ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines each losing 2.4 percent and 2.71 percent. After raising its annual profit projection, Yaskawa Electric slumped 2.11 percent, reversing a 3.14 percent rise earlier this week. Toho’s stock jumped 10.65% after the film and entertainment firm announced that its operating profit nearly quadrupled in the most recent quarter. The volume of shares traded on the main board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was 0.42 billion, compared to an average of 1.03 billion for the previous 30 days. On the Nikkei index, there were 85 advancers and 131 decliners. (Junko Fujita contributed reporting, and Uttaresh.V edited the piece.)/n
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