The Nikkei closed lower on profit-taking, and investors were cautious ahead of the US CPI release

(1) Japan’s Nikkei closed lower on Wednesday as investors took profits after two consecutive sessions of gains, while markets were generally cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation data. (2) The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.48% to 39,581.81 points, after rising nearly 1% in the previous two trading days. (3) “The Nikkei has risen over the past two days, prompting investors to lock in profits,” said Naoki Fujiwara, senior fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. ” (4) Fast Retailing, the owner of the Unipants brand, fell 1.11%, becoming the biggest drag on the Nikkei. Chip test equipment maker Advantest fell 1.03%. (5) Stocks that bucked the trend included chip manufacturing equipment maker Tokyo Electron (Tokyo Weili Kechuang) up 0.77% and silicon wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical up 0.8%. Heavy Industries Group fell 5.44%, making it the worst-performing Nikkei constituent. (6) The Topix index fell 0.43% to 2,742.79 points, and Toyota Motor fell 0.95%, putting pressure on the index. (7) Trading company Mitsui & Co. fell 2.44%. (8) Retail giant Seven & i Holdings turned from rising to falling 1.61%. The group said it was considering taking its supermarket business public as part of its corporate value maximisation plan