Tokyo stocks open lower

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened slightly lower on Wednesday following a dip on Wall Street as trading remained quiet in holiday mode with major investors keeping to the sidelines.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged down 0.05 percent, or 10.80 points, to 22,881.89 in early trade while the broader Topix index was down 0.01 percent, or 0.27 points, at 1,827.28.

The Tokyo market took a negative lead from Wall Street where stocks dropped Tuesday with worries about Apple's new smartphone hitting some technology shares.

"But sentiment is not so bad," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"Selling of high tech shares is limited as the Apple news has already been factored in," Horiuchi told AFP.

The dollar changed hands at 113.22 yen, slightly down from 113.29 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial was up 0.34 percent at 838.9 yen after it announced plans to buy 73.8 percent of shares in Indonesia's Bank Danamon.

Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing rose 0.49 percent to 44,820 after a news report said it would build a production base in Ethiopia.

Fanuc factory automation systems maker fell 0.23 percent to 27,365 yen, while leading electronic components supplier Kyocera was down 0.39 percent at 7,492 yen.