TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened lower today as support from rallies on Wall Street was overwhelmed by worries over an expected extension of the virus state of emergency in parts of Japan.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.20% or 58.64 points at 29,272.73 in early trade, while the broader Topix index inched down 0.01% or 0.21 points to 1,927.19.
“Japanese shares are seen moving up and down as the virus state of emergency will likely be extended,” Okasan Online Securities said.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to announce later today an extension of the virus state of emergency in four regions, including here, to May 31.
The measures are less strict than blanket lockdowns seen elsewhere in the world and primarily focus on limits to the business activities of shops, bars and restaurants.
The dollar fetched ¥109.04 in early Asian trade, against ¥109.09 in New York late yesterday.
Here, Nintendo was down 2.98% at ¥59,770 on profit-taking after the games giant reported its highest ever annual profit after virus lockdowns caused sales of its blockbuster Switch console to soar.
Online shopping mall operator and mobile carrier Rakuten was down 2.10% at ¥1,304 after its rival SoftBank Corp said it is suing Rakuten's mobile unit and a former SoftBank employee after the person was arrested for leaking confidential information.
SoftBank Corp was up 0.10% at ¥1,431 while its parent SoftBank Group was off 0.25% at ¥10,015.
Japan Airlines was up 0.70% at ¥2,306 ahead of its earnings report due after the closing bell.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.9% at 34,548.53. – AFP, May 7, 2021
