Tokyo's Nikkei index opens lower after mixed US close

TOKYO: Tokyo's key Nikkei index opened lower on Tuesday after a mixed close on Wall Street as investors adjusted their positions.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.28 percent or 81.75 points at 28,661.50 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.16 percent or 2.94 points to 1,896.52.

"Following a patchy performance in US shares, (investors in) Japanese stocks are seen trying to find out where the lowest price lines are," said senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities.

Bargain-hunting in sectors such as energy, banking, and medicine are likely to continue, he added.

The dollar fetched 108.92 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.88 yen in New York late Monday.

Japan's October-December GDP growth was revised down to 2.8 percent from a preliminary estimate of 3.0 percent, due to changes in private inventories, according to government data released 10 minutes before the opening bell.

The latest reading did not prompt a strong market reaction.

Among major shares in Tokyo, banks kept rallying, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gaining 1.36 percent to 588.9 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial up 1.38 percent to 3,967 yen.

Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 0.64 percent at 3,930 yen, rallying for the second straight day after it filed a request with Japanese health authorities for approval of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine.

Meanwhile Panasonic plunged 5.41 percent to 1,347 yen after a report said the electronics giant is set to buy US software developer Blue Yonder for 700 billion yen ($6.4 billion).

Sony dropped 3.22 percent to 10,665 yen after a brokerage firm downgraded its evaluation of the shares.

On Wall Street, the Dow finished up 1.0 percent at 31,802.44 while the tech-rich Nasdaq tumbled 2.4 percent and the broad-based S&P declined 0.5 percent.