TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened lower today, tracking falls on Wall Street, where a tech rally faded as weak housing start data fuelled inflation fears.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.39%, or 393.49 points, to 28,013.35 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.98%, or 18.73 points, at 1,889.01.
“Japanese shares are seen starting with falls after US stocks dropped, led by declines in tech stocks”, which are sensitive to economic cycles, said Okasan Online Securities senior analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama.
Weaker-than-expected housing start data is partly to blame for the falls on Wall Street, said analysts, as it sparks concern that inflation could have a negative effect on the world’s largest economy.
The dollar fetched ¥108.90 (RM4.12) in early Asian trade against ¥108.91 in New York late yesterday.
In Tokyo trade, Toyota was down 0.63% at ¥8,763, Hitachi was off 2.06% at ¥5,372 and Olympus was down 0.78% at ¥2,153.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.9% at 34,060.66, the broad-based S&P 500 closed down 0.9% and the tech-rich Nasdaq lost 0.6%. – AFP, May 19, 2021
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