Tokyo Shares Open Lower After US Falls

Tokyo shares opened lower Thursday after global investors dumped Wall Street stocks as the latest US retail and wholesale data indicated slowing economic activity

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jan, 2023 ):Tokyo shares opened lower Thursday after global investors dumped Wall Street stocks as the latest US retail and wholesale data indicated slowing economic activity.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 1.10 per cent, or 295.86 points, to 26,495.26 in early trade, while the broader Topix index lost 0.90 per cent, or 17.41 points, to 1,917.52.

The dollar stood at 128.41 yen, slipping from 128.80 yen in New York overnight.

"Tokyo stocks are under pressure from weak US share prices and a higher yen," online brokerage Monex said.

Wall Street drifted lower overnight after weak data rekindled worries about a slowdown "as recessionary concerns shift back into the forefront", Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said.

The Dow ended down 1.8 per cent while the Nasdaq fell 1.2 per cent.

Tokyo shares were vulnerable to profit-taking after the Bank of Japan on Wednesday kept its ultra-loose policy, prompting the yen to fall while the Nikkei surged 2.

5 per cent.

Although many analysts had expected the central bank to maintain its policy, the market had signalled hopes that the BoJ could indicate an eventual move towards tightening.

Markets still believe the bank may start to scale down its monetary easing in the near future if wages grow and after a new governor takes office, Innes wrote.

A higher yen weighed on Japanese exporters in morning trade. Toyota dropped 2.36 per cent to 1,864.5.

The company announced Wednesday that it plans to make up to 10.6 million vehicles in 2023, but the figure could be as much as 10 percent lower.

The Nikkei newspaper separately said that Toyota planned to limit orders for Lexus vehicles due to shortages of semiconductors and other parts.

Honda was down 1.83 percent to 3,066. Nissan was also off 3.06 per cent to 422.

SoftBank Group was down 3.10 percent to 5,910 yen. Tokyo Electron, which makes tools to produce semiconductors, fell 1.71 percent to 44,890 yen.