By Tomo Uetake
TOKYO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
slipped on Wednesday as investors took profits after a 10-day
rally ahead of key central bank meetings in the United States
and Japan, but continued to hover not far from its four-month
high touched a day earlier.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 retreated 0.2% and
closed at 21,960.71, near its four-month peak of 22,041.08
Tuesday, while the broader Topix .TOPX dropped 0.5% to
1,606.62.
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. But some trimmed
positions ahead of the Fed's policy meeting, analysts said.
A 25 basis point cut by the Fed is seen as near-certain, with
investors focusing on the so-called "dot plot," which shows
where policymakers expect rates to be in the future.
A Reuters poll pointed toward the Bank of Japan keeping its
policy on hold. However, 28 of 41 economists expect it will ease
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 as crude prices cooled on Wednesday after
Saudi Arabia said the kingdom would 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 4.2% and global engineering company JGC Corp 1963.T fell
2.3%, while the oil & coal products sector .IPETE.T dropped
3.6%.
On the flip side, electric and gas companies .IEPNG.T and
sea transport .ISHIP.T - major beneficiaries of lower oil
prices - were the top two performing sectors among the Tokyo
bourse's 33 subsector indexes, rising 0.8% and 0.7%,
respectively.
Elsewhere, Sony Corp 6758.T declined 2.2% 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."