TOKYO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average was
little changed but continued to hover near its four-month high
on Wednesday, with investors awaiting fresh catalysts ahead of
key central bank meetings in the United States and Japan.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 stood virtually flat at
22,009.19 in mid-morning trade, not far from its four-month peak
of 22,041.08 touched previous day, while the broader Topix
.TOPX dropped 0.4% to 1,608.61.
Investors broadly remained on the sidelines ahead of key
policy decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve due later Wednesday
and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) on Thursday. The Fed is expected to
cut interest rates, but while a 25-basis point cut is seen as
near-certain, investors will look to the statement and economic
projections from Fed policy makers, given that there have been
signs recently of deep disagreements among them.
A Reuters poll pointed toward the Bank of Japan keeping its
policy on hold. However, 28 of 41 economists expect it will ease
later this year and 13 believe it may surprise by taking action
at the Thursday meeting. Oil and gas-related companies, which led gains the previous
day, dropped back after crude prices cooled on Wednesday as
Saudi Arabia said the kingdom will fully restore its oil supply
by the end of month following attacks on its oil facilities.
Japan's biggest oil and gas developer Inpex Corp 1605.T
shed 5.1% and global engineering company JGC Corp 1963.T fell
2.1%, while the oil and coal products sector .IPETE.T dropped
3.7%.
On the flip side, airlines .IAIRL.T , one of the major
beneficiaries of lower oil prices, rose 0.6% to become the best
performing subsector index, with ANA Holdings 9202.T and Japan
Airlines 9201.T adding 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively.
Elsewhere, Sony Corp 6758.T declined 2.3% after the
electronics company rejected a call by Daniel Loeb's activist
hedge fund Third Point LLC to spin-off its chips business,
saying that the business is "a crucial growth driver."