Tokyo Stocks Open Lower With Eyes On Earnings Reports

Tokyo, Aug 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Aug, 2020 ) :Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday after two days of rallies, as investors sought to lock in profits while watching corporate earnings and key US data.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.49 percent, or 111.24 points, at 22,462.42 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.49 percent, or 7.69 points, to 1,547.57.

"After more than 830 points of gains in the... two previous sessions, the Japanese market is seen dominated by sell orders," Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary.

But profit-taking could be offset by some active buying based on corporate earnings, analysts said.

Investors are also keenly awaiting the US ISM non-manufacturers index due later in the day and key US jobs data this weekend, they added.

The Dollar fetched 105.

69 Yen in early Asian trade, against 105.64 yen in New York late Tuesday.

In Tokyo, Sony was up 0.31 percent at 8,713 yen after the electronics giant said its net profit jumped 53.3 percent in the first quarter, but warned annual profits were likely to see double-digit falls as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cloud the forecast.

Nippon Steel was up 1.83 percent at 944.5 yen after its quarterly operating loss was smaller than market expectations.

Honda was down 0.51 percent at 2,753 yen ahead of its quarterly earnings report due later in the day.

Among other major shares, Mitsubishi Heavy was down 1.76 percent at 2,450 yen, pharmaceutical firm Eisai was down 1.77 percent at 8,596 yen, and small car specialist Suzuki was down 1.51 percent at 3,915 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.6 percent at 26,828.47.