TOKYO, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index hitting a three-month low, as Wall Street delivered a weak lead overnight with subpar domestic earnings reports adding to a downbeat mood.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 461.08 points, or 1.61 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 28,147.51, marking its lowest closing level since Feb. 1.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 27.97 points, or 1.47 percent, to finish at 1,877.95.
Local traders said that sentiment was hit by Wall Street's drop overnight amid concerns the U.S. Federal Reserve might be considering curtailing its bond purchases due to rising inflation.
They added that along with inflation concerns, Japanese firms reporting earnings and profit outlooks that came in below median analysts' expectations added to investors' impetus to sell.
"On top of the recent market instability due to inflation concerns, many Japanese firms failed to meet market expectations for their outlooks for fiscal 2021," Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., was quoted as saying.
Other strategists said that a lack of intervention by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) following the market's recent slump, did little to bolster market jitters, with no exchange traded funds (ETFs) bought on Tuesday when the Nikkei and the Topix marked their biggest daily losses since the end of February.
"Also the Bank of Japan so far hasn't shown any signs of supporting the market. That has disappointed investors," Takatoshi Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Asset Management, was quoted as saying.
In terms of the U.S. dollar-yen pairing, the greenback inched up thanks to buying by importers and was quoted at 108.79-80 yen at 5 p.m., compared with 108.57-67 yen in New York and 108.94-95 yen at 5 p.m. on Tuesday in Tokyo.
The euro, meanwhile, fetched 1.2133-2134 dollars and 132.00-04 yen against 1.2142-2152 dollars and 131.91-132.01 yen in New York and 1.2141-2142 dollars and 132.27-31 yen in late Tuesday afternoon trade in Tokyo.
By the close of play, marine transportation, oil and coal product, and iron and steel issues comprised those that declined the most by the close of play.
Some automakers skidded down on disappointing earning and outlooks, with Nissan Motor reversing 10.0 percent, after saying a day earlier it expects a net loss for fiscal 2021.
Subaru dropped 2.5 percent, after saying the global semiconductor crunch had seen it lower its worldwide output in the January-March quarter by 61,000 vehicles.
Among tech issues losing ground, Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group weighed on the broader market falling 3.5 percent, while chip-linked issues followed their U.S. counterparts lower overnight.
These included Advantest falling 3.0 percent and Tokyo Electron losing 3.2 percent.
Bucking the downward trend, Toyota Motor accelerated 2.2 percent, after saying it had booked a 14 percent increase in its operating profit forecast for this year.
Issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,795 to 349 on the First Section, while 48 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Wednesday, 1,529.39 million shares changed hands, rising from Tuesday's volume of 1,289.14 million shares.
The turnover on the third trading day of the week came to 3,401.40 billion yen (31.29 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem