Japanese shares dip for 5th day

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 19.64 points, or 0.14 percent, to 13,829.92.

"Ongoing worries over inflation and a slump in the global economy continued to dampen sentiment," said Masatoshi Sato, strategist at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. Ltd.

Investors stayed on the sidelines, awaiting the outcome of a two-day rate setting meeting by the Federal Reserve later in the day. Traders expect the U.S. central bank to hold its key interest rate at 2 percent.

"Investors are keen on what the Fed will say about inflation and the economy after the meeting," Sato said.

Toyota Motor Corp. fell 1.3 percent to 5,160 yen. Japan's top automaker said Tuesday it might scale back its ambitious target of selling more vehicles in the United States this year than it did in 2007 due to a slump in consumer demand.

Its rival Nissan Motor Co. edged up 0.2 percent to 899 yen. During a shareholders' meeting Wednesday, Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn vowed that the company would continue to grow in the years ahead by expanding in emerging markets such as China, Russia, India and Brazil.

Sony Corp. declined 1.6 percent to 4.920 yen. Japan's financial giant Mizuho Financial Group Inc. dropped 3 percent to 523,000 yen.

The Topix index of all Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues fell 3.11 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,346.08.

In currency trading, the dollar stood at 107.85 yen mid-afternoon in Tokyo, little moved from 107.82 yen in New York late Tuesday. The euro stood at US$1.5568 mid-afternoon in Tokyo compared with US$1.5572 in New York.