Tokyo stocks open lower tracking US falls

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday, tracking falls on Wall Street as oil prices tumbled, with investors also disheartened by rising coronavirus cases in Europe.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.47 percent or 135.62 points at 28,860.30 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.51 percent or 9.97 points to 1,961.51.

"Japanese shares are seen declining... as investors react negatively to falls in US stocks," said senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities.

Wall Street indices closed in the red with trader enthusiasm for a recovering economy overtaken by fears of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections.

Oil prices slumped Tuesday on lower demand prospects as Europe's biggest economy Germany said it would reimpose strict virus containment measures as it struggles, along with other EU nations, to roll out vaccines.

The dollar fetched 108.58 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.62 yen in New York late Tuesday.

Among major shares in Tokyo, Toyota was down 0.86 percent at 8,233 yen, Sony was off 0.74 percent at 11,445 yen, and Hitachi was down 0.42 percent at 5,275 yen.

But gaming giant Nintendo was up 0.42 percent at 64,250 yen and Honda was up 0.30 percent at 3,309 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.2 percent at 32,674.77.