TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower today, 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% or 324.02 points to 27,823.49 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.65% 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.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks also tumbled.
The Hang Seng Index sank 1.10%, or 311.03 points, to 27,920.01.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.88%, or 30.61 points, to 3,432.14, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange fell 0.99%, or 22.57 points, to 2,249.24.
Inflation fears routed Wall Street equities after government data showed sharp US price increases last month.
A bigger-than-expected hike of 4.2% in consumer prices compared to April 2020 prompted the Dow to close 2% lower amid concerns the Federal Reserve will end its easy money policies sooner than planned.
The dollar fetched ¥109.75 in early Asian trade, higher than ¥109.63 in New York and below the ¥109 seen in Tokyo yesterday.
In Tokyo, SoftBank Group dipped 5.68% to ¥8,659 even as it reported an annual net profit of US$45.8 billion (RM189 billion), the best ever for a Japanese company.
Toyota was down 0.42% at ¥8,487 while Nissan was up 1.13% at ¥526.4 after it plunged more than 9% in the previous session.
Mini car specialist Suzuki was down 1.83% at ¥4,124 ahead of its earnings report due later in the day.
Online mall operator Rakuten was down 1.94% at ¥1,265 ahead of its earnings report due later in the day.
And Mazda was up 0.95% at ¥853 after the automaker revised up its full-year operating profit forecast. – AFP, May 13, 2021
