TOKYO: Japanese stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight falls on overseas markets amid tense worries over Europe's debt problem.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 1.00 percent or 85.54 points to 8,433.59 in early trade. The Topix index of all first section shares fell 0.82 percent or 6.03 points to 730.95.
Market participants "are feeling uneasy about Italy", whose borrowing costs rose to a euro-era high at a bond auction Wednesday, said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management.
Italy paid its highest interest rate ever since the creation of the euro, raising 3.0 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in five-year bonds at a rate of 6.47 percent.
The news brought down European and US stocks, sending down the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close off 131.46 points (1.10 percent) at 11,823.48.
The broader S&P 500 lost 13.91 points (1.13 percent) to 1,211.82, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 39.96 (1.55 percent) to 2,539.31.
The European crisis kept pressure on the single currency in Asian trade, many players doubting the effectiveness of the measures from the recent EU summit.
The euro was trading at $1.2991 and 101.41 yen, staying close to its 11-month-low, from $1.2981 and 101.26 yen in New York Wednesday.
The dollar bought 78.06 yen, nearly flat from 78.08 yen in New York.
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