* Nikkei falls 0.6 pct, closes down for first time in 3 days
* Vol lowest since Dec 30,investors nervous before earnings
* Resource shares hit by falls in commodities prices
By Antoni Slodkowski and Chikafumi Hodo
TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average dropped 0.6 percent on Wednesday, with resource shares losing ground after a rate hike in India and a contraction in Britain's economy led to a pull-back in commodity prices.
Growing concerns over inflation in emerging economies, such as China and India, made both Japanese and foreign investors cautious about taking new positions in stocks ahead of a slew of corporate earnings announcements, pushing down daily turnover to its lowest this year.
Trading volume fell to the lowest level since Dec. 30 -- the final trading day of last year -- with only 1.63 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board.
That was sharply below Tuesday's volume of 1.97 billion shares and last week's daily average of 2.15 billion.
"Futures-led purchases had lifted the Nikkei over the past two days, but without them the market was pretty dull as many investors refrained from trading actively ahead of corporate earnings," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a supervisor in Okasan Securities' investment strategy section.
The benchmark Nikkei closed down 0.6 percent, or 62.52 points, at 10,401.90. The broader Topix index fell 0.7 percent, or 6.64 points, to 922.64.
The Indian interest rate rise, expectations that China will soon lift rates, as well as expectations that this trend will continue as raw materials and food costs climb, hit commodities prices on Tuesday.
"Inflation fears in emerging markets are clearly one of the key concerns now weighing on share prices. Falling commodities prices are making investors nervous about making large investments in risk assets," Okasan's Ishiguro said.
Natural resource-related shares and smelters fell as prices of crude oil, industrial metals and other commodities dropped sharply the previous day, with the closely watched Reuters- Jefferies CRB index of 19 commodities losing 1.5 percent.
Sumitomo Metal Mining fell 2.4 percent to 1,369 yen and JX Holdings dropped 0.9 percent to 561 yen.
Oil and gas exploration company Inpex fell 1.3 percent to 519,000 yen.
EARNINGS IN FOCUS
Earnings were in focus with Komatsu Ltd initially climbing on a report that it is expected to post better-than-expected results for October-December.
The Nikkei daily said it would likely log an operating profit of about 220 billion yen ($2.7 billion) for the year to March 31, roughly triple its previous year's result.
But Komatsu lost its early gains by late trade to close down 1.1 percent at 2,400 yen.
The drug sector slid on a big setback for Eisai Ltd's sepsis drug and a report of lax checks at Mitsubishi Tanabe.
"In normal conditions, a stock like Komatsu would have probably gained much more, but as worries over China persist, it's very hard for this stock to advance further," said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
"In the current environment, after an Indian hike and Chinese hike expected around the beginning of February, investors are reacting to earnings very nervously. Shin-Etsu was sold on Tuesday despite strong earnings, because it left its yearly outlook unchanged, disappointing investors."
Eisai Ltd, Japan's fourth-largest drug company, fell 5 percent to 2,807 yen after it said late-stage trials for sepsis drug eritoran showed no reduction in mortality rates compared with a placebo.
Market investors focused on the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.
A pledge by the Fed to continue its $600 billion bond-buying plan could bolster the dollar against the yen, as well as equities on hopes for continued liquidity, analysts said.
"Worries over monetary tightening will persist in the long term, weighing especially on shares of producers dependent on raw materials as their prices are still near all-time highs," said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan Inc.
President Barack Obama delivered the annual State of Union address, in which he proposed freezing portions of federal spending over the next few years to reduce the national deficit, but analysts said his speech provided no surprises. ($1=82.22 yen) (Additional reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Joseph Radford) (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Joseph Radford)