Tokyo stocks slightly dropped back Wednesday as investors wait for new U.S. economic data.

After Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called Tuesday for additional relief and urged lenders to help distressed owners by lowering the amount of their loans, investors worried about Japanese financial firms stability. Financial and real-estate companies' were sold while oil companies increased as the price of New York oil futures soared over 100 dollars per barrel in the extended trading.

But investors are waiting for the weekend announcement of new U.S. economic data, keeping trading volume at low levels.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average decreased 20.22 points to 12,972.06yen on Wednesday. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was slightly decreased 1.75 points to 1,263.91.

The trading volume of Tokyo Stock Market all first section issues reached 1.95286 billion stocks, or 2.1554 trillion yen.1062 declined, 541 issues increased and 123 unchanged.

Ben Bernanke Tokyo Stock Exchange Nikkei 225 Japan