TOKYO, July 22 (Reuters) - Japanese shares dipped on Monday
on diminishing hopes of a large rate cut by the U.S. Federal
Reserve and as investors took a cautious stance ahead of a
Japanese earnings seasons that starts this week.
The Nikkei share average .N225 fell 0.28% to 21,407.31
while the broader Topix .TOPX dropped 0.35% to 1,558.49, with
growth shares .TOPXG underperforming with fall of 0.5%.
On Friday, U.S. stocks fell following a report that the
Federal Reserve plans to cut interest rates by only a
quarter-percentage point at the end of the month.
Asahi Group Holdings 2502.T fell 6.3% after the beverage
firm said it would buy the Australian operations of
Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BR and issue up to 200 billion yen
($1.9 billion) of shares to fund it.
On the whole, trading was light as many investors looked to
coming earnings for clues on the market, which has moved in a
narrow range in the past few months on uncertainties over
Sino-U.S. trade war.
Quarterly earnings reports by Japanese companies will be in
full swing later this week, with Canon 7751.T and Nidec
6594.T announcing results after the market close on Wednesday.
(Editing by Richard Borsuk)