Tokyo stocks open lower on US falls

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors were disheartened by falls on Wall Street with eyes on the outcome of a US Federal Reserve meeting later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.95 percent, or 266.40 points, at 27,703.82, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.70 percent, or 13.55 points, to 1,924.49.

"We are seeing the Japanese market led by profit-taking sell orders, chiefly in tech shares, following a retreat in US shares," Okasan Online Securities said.

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Some individual shares are enjoying bargain-hunting purchases, especially those with expected strong earnings, it added.

But overall trade remains cautious ahead of the policy announcement from the US central bank, Okasan said.

The dollar fetched 109.79 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.78 yen in New York late Tuesday.

Toyota was down 0.36 percent at 9,835 yen. Its smaller rival Mitsubishi Motors was up 5.61 percent at 301 yen after it reported a better-than-expected first-quarter operating profit and lifted its full-year forecast.

Nissan was up 2.92 percent at 588.2 yen ahead of its earnings report due after market close.

Among tech shares, Sony was up 2.40 percent at 11,315 yen and Panasonic was up 0.30 percent at 1,329 yen. But chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was down 1.80 percent at 9,300 yen and Toshiba was off 1.57 percent at 4,715 yen.

On Wall Street, the tech-rich Nasdaq finished with a 1.2 percent loss and the benchmark Dow dropped 0.2 percent on a downbeat day.