Japan Markets Drop; Nikkei Down Over 300 Points

Japanese stock markets opened lower on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.79 percent, or 312.90 points to 17,129.50, and the TOPIX declined 1.96 percent, or 27.3 points to 1,365.87.

The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to announce its policy decision later in the day. The Fed is projected to keep interest rates unchanged. A new poll showed Donald Trump leading the presidential race over Hillary Clinton.

The U.S. dollar dropped to a twelve-day low against the Japanese yen. The dollar declined 0.4 percent to 103.700 yen, after touching a 12-day low of 103.650.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 0.88 percent to trade at $46.26 per barrel on the NYMEX, while Brent for December settlement dropped 0.69 percent to $47.81 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

U.S. markets closed lower overnight, with the Dow dropping 0.58 percent to 18,037.10, and the NASDAQ declining 0.69 percent to 5,153.58.

Top market movers among the Japanese market are as follows:

• Shares of Taiyo Bussan Kaisha Ltd (9941) climbed over 29 percent to 149.0 JPY.
• Kokusai Chart Corp (3956) shares rose around 25 percent to 263.0 JPY.
• Altech Co Ltd (9972) shares increased over 23 percent to 238.0 JPY.

• NTN Corp. (6472) shares dropped around 16 percent to 339.0 JPY.
• Ibiden Co Ltd (4062) shares fell 13 percent to 1,344.0 JPY.
• Artra Corp (6029) declined over 15 percent to 1,114.0 JPY.