Tokyo stocks close lower on stronger yen

TOKYO: Tokyo benchmark stock index fell to a 10-week low Tuesday as a rise in the yen hit exporters after a deadly subway explosion in Russia, while Toshiba plunged almost 10 percent on fresh fears about a possible delisting.

Eleven people were killed and dozens injured after the Saint Petersburg metro was rocked by a blast on Monday, with the Kremlin saying it bore "all the hallmarks of an attack".

Russia said it was probing the explosion as a possible terror attack, while on Tuesday, Kyrgyzstan's security services said a suicide bomber from the country was responsible.

The dollar dropped to 110.50 yen Tuesday from 110.91 yen in New York and was well down from the mid-111 yen level seen in Tokyo earlier Monday. The yen is considered a safe bet in times of turmoil and uncertainty.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.91 percent, or 172.98 points, to close at 18,810.25, it lowest finish since January 24. The Topix index of all first-section issues declined 0.82 percent, or 12.49 points, to 1,504.54.

"We continue to have a situation where it's difficult to move, with investors waiting for corporate earnings from Japan and abroad," Seiichi Miura, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, told Bloomberg News.

"The strengthening of the yen will be negative for investors," he added.

Investors were also cautious ahead of a meeting this week between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Other key events this week include the March US jobs report, and minutes from the most recent policy meetings of the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.

Toshiba collapsed 9.37 percent to 206.8 yen, extending Monday's 5.5 percent slump, following reports it may have to delay releasing its earnings for October-December for a third time. They were first due in mid-February.

The leading business daily Nikkei reported Tuesday that the postponement could come "amid apparent disagreements with a US auditor over an ongoing investigation into governance problems at subsidiary Westinghouse Electric".

The troubled conglomerate has delayed formally reporting its earnings owing to problems at US nuclear unit Westinghouse, which last month filed for bankruptcy.

Japanese financial regulators have given Toshiba until April 11 to publish results and there are concerns it could be removed from the stock exchange.

The firm's shares have been hammered this year, losing almost 60 percent of their value since late December when it first warned of multi-billion-dollar losses at Westinghouse.

Carmakers retreated on the stronger yen and after a broadly disappointing reading on US auto sales for March.

Honda tumbled 2.65 percent to 3,262 yen while Toyota fell 1.02 percent to 5,984 yen.

Video game maker Nintendo dropped 2.61 percent to 26,055 yen and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial sank 1.58 percent to 683.3 yen.