TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened lower today, extending falls on Wall Street, as investors take to the sidelines ahead of the United States Federal Reserve’s meeting.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.36%, or 104.66 points, at 29,336.64 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.09%, or 1.80 points, to 1,973.68.
“Japanese shares are seen starting with losses after US shares dropped” ahead of the Fed meeting, said market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex in a note.
Investors have been trying to balance optimism over some major economies’ reopening with fears that the Fed could soon begin tapering its easy money policy.
“While no one expects much from the (Fed) meeting, chair (Jerome) Powell will be questioned persistently about whether the Fed is talking about tapering,” said Tapas Strickland, senior analyst at National Australia Bank, in a note.
In Tokyo, Sony was down 1.95% at ¥10,800 (RM404.04), while game giant Nintendo dropped 3.40% to ¥62,860 after its presentation at trade show E3 included no details of a new Switch console.
Automakers are among the winners, with Toyota trading up 1.74% at ¥10,250 and Honda up 0.41% at ¥3,541.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.3% at 34,299.33.
The dollar fetched ¥110.07 in early Asian trade against ¥110.06 in New York late yesterday. – AFP, June 16, 2021
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