Tokyo stocks down at break

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell Monday morning, tracking a negative lead from Wall Street on concerns about President Donald Trump's economic agenda and geopolitical tensions.

Investors are fretting over the outlook for Trump's plans on tax reform and other pro-business measures, as his support from corporate America has evaporated following his heavily criticised response to a white supremacist rally in Virginia on August 12, analysts said.

"We need to pay attention to similar risks this week," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

The dollar traded at 109.21 yen against 109.22 yen late Friday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.44 percent, or 85.77 points, to 19,384.64 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.23 percent, or 3.67 points, at 1,593.69.

"Uncertainty over Trump's policy management and wariness over geopolitical risks may keep investors in a wait-and-see mode," Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, told Bloomberg News.

And Shoji Hirakawa, chief global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, told the business newswire: "North Korea may launch missiles today or tomorrow and concerns will remain until September 9, the day of state foundation (of North Korea)."

Game giant Nintendo was down 0.80 percent at 35,810 yen, while Sony dipped 1.33 percent to 4,170 yen.

Banks were lower, with Mitsubishi UFJ losing 1.28 percent to 670.7 yen and rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial slipping 0.75 percent to 4,066 yen.