Japanese shares dipped on Monday on diminishing hopes of a large rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve and as investors took a cautious stance ahead of a Japanese earnings seasons that starts this week.

The Nikkei share average fell 0.28% to 21,407.31 while the broader Topix dropped 0.35% to 1,558.49, with growth shares underperforming with fall of 0.5%.

On Friday, U.S. stocks fell following a report that the Federal Reserve plans to cut interest rates by only a quarter-percentage point at the end of the month.

Asahi Group Holdings fell 6.3% after the beverage firm said it would buy the Australian operations of Anheuser-Busch InBev and issue up to 200 billion yen ($1.9 billion) of shares to fund it.

Source : Reuters