Japan's Nikkei dips as US tariffs, Trump's attacks on Fed chief weigh

TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei edged lower in a choppy session on Tuesday, as investor caution prevailed amid lingering concerns over U.S. tariffs and President Donald Trump's continued criticism of the Federal Reserve chairman.

The Nikkei .N225 was down 0.07% at 34,255.71 by the midday break, after falling as much as 0.4% earlier in the session.

The broader Topix .TOPX reversed its course to edge up 0.05% at 2,530.26.

"The environment surrounding the U.S. tariffs has not changed. The market is still struggling to gauge how much of the impact local and global firms would suffer," said Hiroyuki Ueno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.

The Nikkei hit an 18-month low in early April following Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs but has since rebounded to the key 34,000 level. However, it remains halfway to the 38,000 mark it hovered near in late March.

"The market is awaiting next cues for the timing to start making active bets, possibly from corporate outlook, particularly from U.S. technology firms and Japanese exporters," Ueno said.

Strategists noted that the Nikkei's losses were relatively modest compared with Wall Street's sharp overnight decline, as the U.S. sell-off reflected a broader flight from American assets.

Trump ramped up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, prompting investors to worry about the U.S. central bank's independence even as they grapple with the effects of an ongoing, erratic trade war. .N

All three major indexes tumbled more than 2%, with big losses in the "Magnificent Seven" group of megacap growth stocks weighing heaviest on the tech-laden Nasdaq.

Japan's chip-related shares dropped, with Tokyo Electron 8035.T and Advantest 6857.T losing 0.8% and 0.9%, respectively, to drag the Nikkei the most.

Technology investor SoftBank Group 9984.T climbed 0.6%, emerging as the biggest support for the Nikkei.