Japan shares declined on Wednesday, 20 January 2021, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index and Topix index both settling lower, as investors opted to secure profits amid worries about the rising number of coronavirus cases and ahead of the Bank of Japan monetary policy decisions on Thursday. However, market losses capped after U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen signaled her readiness to introduce large-scale fiscal stimulus measures at a Senate confirmation hearing.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 110.20 points, or 0.38%, to 28,523.26. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 6.26 points, or 0.34%, to 1,849.58.

Airline ANA fell 3.4% after announcing a 15% reduction in domestic flight service capacity in fiscal 2021 from the initially planned level for the previous year.

Tokyo Electric Power shares surged 7.6% after Japan's wholesale electricity prices hit the maximum possible for a third day on the back of colder winter weather and dwindling fuel supplies.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen traded at 103.76 per dollar, stronger than an earlier level of 103.93 against the greenback.

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