Tokyo Stocks Open Lower Extending US Rout

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th May, 2021 ) :Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower Thursday, extending a rout on Wall Street following US inflation data that fuelled worries about a sudden shift in monetary policy.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.15 percent or 324.02 points to 27,823.49 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.65 percent or 12.19 points at 1,865.76.

"Japanese shares are seen extending falls in US shares following a surprise rise in US consumer prices," Okasan Online Securities said.

"As there is no sign of improvement to the coronavirus situation at home, foreign traders' appetite (for Japanese shares) should be limited," it added.

Inflation fears routed Wall Street equities after government data showed sharp US price increases last month.

A bigger-than-expected hike of 4.2 percent in consumer prices compared to April 2020 prompted the Dow to close two percent lower amid concerns the Federal Reserve will end its easy money policies sooner than planned.

The Dollar fetched 109.75 Yen in early Asian trade, higher than 109.63 yen in New York and below the 109 yen mark seen in Tokyo on Wednesday.

In Tokyo, SoftBank Group dipped 5.68 percent to 8,659 yen even as it reported an annual net profit of $45.8 billion, the best ever for a Japanese company.

Toyota was down 0.42 percent at 8,487 yen while Nissan was up 1.13 percent at 526.4 yen after it plunged more than nine percent in the previous session.

Mini car specialist Suzuki was down 1.83 percent at 4,124 yen ahead of its earnings report due later in the day.

Online mall operator Rakuten was down 1.94 percent at 1,265 yen ahead of its earings report due later in the day.

And Mazda was up 0.95 percent at 853 yen after the automaker revised up its full-year operating profit forecast.