Japanese stocks ended lower on Wednesday, tracking an extended sell-off in Asian markets, as investors resisted making large bets in the face of the Bank of Japan's failure to help the market after a steep decline the earlier day.

After slipping to its lowest level more than three months earlier in the day, the Nikkei share average dropped 1.91 % to close at 28,147.51. The wider Topix fell 1.47 % to 1,877.95 points.

Asian stocks dropped to their lowest level in seven weeks as traders bet on earlier rate hikes and higher bond rates globally due to rising oil prices and rising inflationary pressure in the US.

“There are worries about the rebound of Asian economies, especially in Taiwan,” said Takatoshi Itoshima, an analyst at Pictet Asset Management.

Taiwan, which has so far kept the pandemic under control, may lift its COVID-19 warning level in the "following weeks."

“Also, the Bank of Japan has displayed no signs of helping the industry so far. This has dissatisfied investors.”

The Bank of Japan, which usually buys stocks in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in bulk when shares are declining, did not intervene on Tuesday, when both Nikkei and the Topix fell the most in a single day since February 26.

Despite a local media announcement that the tech start-up investor was poised to deliver a net profit later in the day, SoftBank Group pulled the Nikkei down by losing 3.45 %.

Nissan Motor fell 10.04 % after announcing a weakened forecast for the current fiscal year.

Toyota Motor rose 2.18 % after forecasting a 14% growth in operating profit for this year. Including the fact that the guideline fell short of the average profit projection from 24 analysts collected by Refinitiv.

The Nikkei index saw 31 advancers and 192 decliners.

Investors expecting the Bank of Japan to place a ground under equity prices could be dissatisfied, as the current sell-off is expected to slip short of new benchmarks set in March for the central bank's exchange-traded fund (ETF) purchases, according to figures released by the central bank.

As part of its attempts to make its enormous stimulus more efficient, the BOJ abandoned a commitment to purchase ETFs at a fixed annual rate in March and instead aims to intervene only "when required."

Since then, the central bank has purchased ETFs on three occasions in March, once in April, but it's not in May. That is far less than its average monthly presence of six days last year.

Some investors attribute recent market declines to the absence of the BOJ, which is the largest owner of Japanese stocks after its huge ETF buying frenzy the previous year.

The central bank did not purchase ETFs on Tuesday, even though the Nikkei and the larger Topix had their greatest daily fall since Feb. 26. It also did not buy on Wednesday, when the Nikkei dropped 1.91 % and the Topix fell 1.47 %.

Although fears about the rebound of Asian economies were weighing on stocks, the BOJ showed no signs of bolstering the economy, according to Takatoshi Itoshima, the analyst at Pictet Asset Management. “That has dissatisfied investors,” he added.

The BOJ has been purchasing volatile assets such as ETFs and government bonds to boost investor sentiment and stimulate growth. It is more of the bank's major stimulus plan aimed at boosting inflation to the elusive 2% mark.

A deeper examination of a study published by the BOJ in March in conjunction with the latest guidance reveals that the barrier to purchasing ETFs has risen considerably, and it reflects not only on the magnitude of price drops but also on uncertainty.

“It is efficient to purchase massive amounts when markets are extremely unpredictable,” the BOJ said, implying that a recession like last year's market collapse will be needed to justify large ETF transactions.

However, shares are far from a recession in the minds of BOJ policymakers, with turnover muted and equity prices beyond trend.

The Topix fell 7.5% from its most recent high two months earlier on Wednesday, somewhat less than the 32.4 % drop caused by the pandemic last March. The Nikkei volatility index was about 26, below the values that surpassing 60 in March of the previous year.