Nikkei edges lower as BOJ decision awaited

TOKYO, Dec 19: The Nikkei average was down 0.26 percent on Tuesday as accounting problems at Nikko Cordial Corp discouraged investors from picking up brokerage stocks while technology stocks such as Tokyo Electron Ltd. lost ground following drops in US markets.

Investors are also waiting for the outcome of the Bank of Japan's last policy-setting meeting of the year.

''Investors are trying to figure out the impact from accounting problems at Nikko Cordial and Misawa. Something like this could keep (the Nikkei) from reaching its year-high recorded in April, which has not been out of reach otherwise,'' said Tsutomu Yamada, a market analyst at Kabu.com Securities.

On April 7, the Nikkei hit a year-high of 17,563.37.

''Investors are also likely to take a wait-and-watch stance in the afternoon, watching the outcome of the Bank of Japan's policy board meeting.'' The Nikkei was down 44.35 points at 16,917.76 as of 0149 GMT.

The broader TOPIX index fell 0.40 percent to 1,658.98.

Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui will speak at a news conference starting at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT). Investors will be listening for his views on the economy and any hints on the timing of the next interest rate hike.

Tokyo Electron fell 0.9 percent to 9,260 yen.

U.S. stocks fell on Monday as investors took profits by selling some tech shares such as Apple Computer Inc.and Google Inc, as they worried about the sustainability of the rally that has driven major U.S. indexes up since July.

Nikko Cordial was flooded with sell orders coming in at 1,219 yen, down 14.1 percent from Monday's close.

Nikko Cordial faces a million fine and possible delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange after regulators found the brokerage had improperly booked 6 million in profits.

Misawa Homes Kyushu Co. Ltd. was untraded with sell orders at 397 yen, down 9.2 percent from Monday's close, after its parent firm Misawa Homes Holdings Inc said on Monday that Misawa Homes Kyushu had inappropriately padded its sales over the last few years.

Misawa Homes was down 2.3 percent at 2,715 yen.

Shares of Misawa Homes Kyushu, listed on the Fukuoka Stock Exchange, have been placed under administrative watch for possible delisting.

REUTERS