TOKYO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower on Tuesday amid caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 8.89 points, or 0.01 percent, from Monday at 63,484.10.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 21.05 points, or 0.52 percent, lower at 4,037.16.
On the top-tier Prime Market, oil and coal product issues, along with bank and securities house shares, were notable decliners.
Stocks opened lower, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street after top executives of major U.S. artificial intelligence companies called for the pace of AI development to be slowed.
Sentiment was also dented by West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures holding above 100 U.S. dollars per barrel.
The tech-heavy Nikkei index soon pared its losses, however, on bargain-hunting in recent decliners, notably SoftBank Group, following its plunge the previous day.
The market lost steam again in the afternoon as investors moved to the sidelines ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting, due to begin later in the day, with the Bank of Japan's policy meeting also scheduled for later in the week. ■