Japanese equities fell on Wednesday, sapped by a fragile outlook for the US economy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 average snapped a three-session advance, losing 0.5 per cent to end at 15,153.78. The broader Topix index was also down, by a more modest 0.2 per cent at 1,475.

Japan’s recent sell-off, which has seen the Nikkei shed some 2,000 points in a few weeks, has been accompanied by a rising yen. Wednesday, the yen weakened marginally to Y109 to the dollar, though that compared with over Y120 before the global retreat from risk this summer.

Jonathan Allum, strategist at KBC Financial Products, said historically there had often been a correlation between a strong yen and a rising stock market, though that relationship had recently broken down. In the past, he said, when money flowed back into Japan part of it found its way into equities, while a rising yen also provided an incentive for foreign investors looking for currency gains.

Yen strength pressured exporters, particularly automakers. Toyota fell 1.6 per cent to Y6,000, with Honda down 1.4 per cent at Y3,610. Inpex, Japan’s biggest oil and gas developer, drooped 4.2 per cent to 1.13m on weaker oil prices.

Sanyo Electric, the struggling electronics maker that on Tuesday unveiled a turnaround strategy, rose 2.1 per cent to Y196. Sony was up again, by 3.3 per cent to Y5,940, following a vote of confidence earlier in the week when Dubai International Capital announced it was buying a “significant stake”.

Astellas, one of Japan’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, rose 1.4 per cent to Y4,930 after it announced it was buying Agensys, a US biotechnology company, for $387m.