Tokyo Stocks Open Lower As Virus Worries Linger

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Feb, 2020 ) :Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday due to worries over the spread of the new coronavirus in the country and the economy's worst quarterly contraction in more than five years.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.81 percent, or 191.88 points, at 23,495.71 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.85 percent, or 14.46 points, at 1,688.41.

"Japanese markets are seen subdued in early trade as worries linger over the spread of the new coronavirus," Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary.

The mixed close in the US market on Friday is not helping to boost Japan, he noted.

On Wall Street before the weekend, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.1 percent at 29,398.08 points but the tech-rich Nasdaq climbed 0.2 percent and the broad-based S&P 500 also rose 0.

2 percent.

Compared to the US, "Japan is closer geographically and economically to China, and that's causing concerns about the negative impact of the new virus on the economy and corporate performance," said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities.

Those concerns were exacerbated by the Japan economy's poor performance in the three months to December.

Gross domestic product shrank 1.6 percent from the previous quarter, much worse than the one-percent contraction economists had expected, according to data released by the Cabinet Office.

The Dollar fetched 109.81 Yen in early Asian trade, against 109.74 yen in New York on Friday.

In Tokyo, some major exporters were lower, with Sony losing 2.02 percent to 7,468 yen, Toyota slipping 1.05 percent to 7,648 yen and electronic parts maker Murata Manufacturing trading down 2.33 percent at 6,329 yen.