Japanese stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 index down 0.1%, or 52.30 points, to 50,602.80. This weakening occurred ahead of the Fed's important decision, while the yen had fallen sharply overnight before stabilizing around 156.64 per dollar. The market currently rates the chance of a 25-bps Fed rate cut to a range of 3.50%–3.75% at 89%, but sees only a small chance of a further cut in January due to expectations of hawkish guidance.

Data-wise, Japanese producer prices rose 0.3% in November, driven by the energy and metals sectors. Export prices rose slightly, while import costs actually fell 0.5%, which could help mitigate cost pressures for domestic businesses. This movement suggests that price pressures at the producer level are starting to rise, but remain within relatively manageable limits.

At the issuer level, Several stocks caught the eye. Renova fell 0.6% despite confirming that its solar and biomass facilities in the Tohoku region were unaffected by the December 8 earthquake off the coast of Aomori. Liberaware plunged 14% after announcing a capital and business alliance with Kyushu Electric Power, which will purchase 35,800 new shares worth approximately 50 million yen. Meanwhile, Seven Bank gained 1.9% after reporting its domestic ATM network grew 2% to 28,338 units, with the number of monthly transactions and average daily transactions per machine also increasing. (asd)

Source: Newsmaker.id