TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened down 1.51 percent on Thursday after weak demand in a German government debt auction fuelled fears over Europe's fiscal crisis and anaemic growth in the eurozone.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 125.32 points to open at 8,189.42. The Tokyo market was closed on Wednesday for a national holiday.
A German government bond auction Wednesday drew some of the weakest demand since the introduction of the euro, signalling diminishing investor appetite even for the safest eurozone assets.
"It's OK as long as money is floating from bad assets to good ones, but now investment money itself is shrinking," Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
US markets were stuck in negative territory on Wednesday after Germany was able to sell only part of an issue of German 10-year bonds, considered the gold standard of eurozone debt.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 236.17 points (2.05 percent) to finish at 11,257.55.
The euro bought $1.3357 and 103.09 yen in early Asian trade, compared to $1.3347 and 103.15 yen in New York late Wednesday.
The dollar was at 77.20 yen, slightly lower than 77.29 in New York.
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