TOKYO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday as investors were in a risk-off mood and offloaded issues, tracking a heavy selloff on Wall Street overnight on concerns over a global economic slowdown.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 391.43 points, or 1.82 percent, from Monday to close the day at 21,115.45.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 31.69 points, or 1.99 percent, to finish at 1,562.51.

Traders here said that concerns global economic growth was cooling triggered an equities rout on Wall Street overnight, with the subsequent retreat of major Asian bourses adding to a risk-averse mood.

Investors were seen offloading issues ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week that may offer hints about the U.S. monetary policy outlook next year, market analysts here said.

"Mid-to-long investors are changing their global asset allocations to reflect their risk-averse stance," Shogo Maekawa, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, was quoted as saying of the selloff.

Other strategists concurred, with Shingo Ide, chief equity strategist at the NLI Research Institute, noting that investors were quick to offload equities to "cut their positions ahead of a two-day policy setting meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve through Wednesday."

Sentiment was also dampened by the yen's rise to a one-week high against the U.S. dollar which impacted exporter issues reliant on a weaker yen to boost profits made overseas and their overall competitiveness in foreign markets, brokers here said.

As such, Toyota Motor Corp. lost 0.9 percent and Nikon Corp. retreated 1.1 percent. Tire maker Bridgestone Corp. also closed in negative territory, skidding down 1.5 percent.

Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group dropped 3.3 percent ahead of its mobile phone unit being listed on the main section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The listing will mark Japan's largest ever IPO.

Real estate-oriented issues also weighed on the market following data showing a slowdown in condominium sales in Tokyo in November.

Condominium constructor Haseko fell 3.7 percent, while Tokyu Fudosan Holdings lost 3.2 percent.

By the close of play, all industry categories in the main section retreated into negative territory, with pharmaceutical, service and miscellaneous product issues comprising notable decliners.

On the main section on Tuesday, 1,625.13 million shares changed hands, rising from from Monday's volume of 1,362.10 million shares.

The turnover on the second trading day of the week came to 2,509.8 billion yen (22.32 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

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