Tokyo stocks open lower after Nasdaq sell-off

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday as investors reacted with caution to a sell-off in US technology shares.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.40 percent, or 90.54 points, to 22,616.62 in early trade while the broader Topix index was down 0.29 percent, or 5.21 points,at 1,781.66.

"The high-tech sell-off has worsened overall sentiment," said Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.

On Wall Street on Monday, the blue-chip Dow still mustered a modest record but the technology-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 1.1 percent.

"Investors seem to be rebalancing (their portfolios) to take profits towards the end of the year, moving out of high-performing technology and health-care issues into financial stocks that are likely to fare well next year," Matsuno told AFP.

Japanese tech-tech giant SoftBank, a heavyweight in the Nikkei 225, fell 1.77 percent to 9,239 yen.

Electronics makers also dropped with Hitachi down 0.59 percent at 824.6 yen and Panasonic off 0.95 percent at 1,613.5 yen.

Bucking the downtrend, Nidec rose 1.25 percent to 15,310 yen on the announcement late Monday that it would set up a joint venture with French automaker PSA to produce motors for electric vehicles.

The dollar was trading at 112.52 yen on Tuesday against 112.41 yen in New York Monday afternoon.