Tokyo Stocks Open Lower

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday after Wall Street shares fell on renewed worries over inflation

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Mar, 2024) Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday after Wall Street shares fell on renewed worries over inflation.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.60 percent, or 231.47 points, to 38,575.91 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.21 percent, or 5.48 points, to 2,656.11.

"The Japanese market is expected to start with losses as US shares dropped," senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said.

The dollar fetched 148.47 yen in early Asian trade, against 148.28 yen in New York on Thursday.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.4 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 0.3 percent, as the latest economic indicators appeared to dent expectations that the US Federal Reserve might soon cut interest rates.

Investors are also cautious ahead of a Bank of Japan policy meeting next week, with speculation growing that the central bank may scale back its super-loose monetary policy, analysts said.

Among major shares in Tokyo, Sony Group was down 0.42 percent at 13,000 yen, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was down 1.52 percent at 6,427 yen and SoftBank Group was off 0.35 percent at 8,561 yen.

Nippon Steel was down 0.64 percent at 3,563 yen after US President Joe Biden said he is against the proposed sale of US Steel to the Japanese firm.

Shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was down 0.51 percent at 4,723 yen. Camera maker Nikon was off 1.22 percent at 1,536.5 yen.

Carmakers were higher with Honda trading up 1.74 percent at 1,782.5 yen and Toyota up 0.26 percent at 3,454 yen.