Tokyo stocks open lower on profit-taking

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday on profit-taking, with a dearth of fresh market-moving factors following a rally in the previous session.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.56 percent or 162.47 points at 28,594.39 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.58 percent or 10.78 points at 1,849.86.

"The Japanese market lacks a sense of clear direction after big events such as the US presidential inauguration and the Bank of Japan's meeting," said Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities.

"Profit-taking is seen weighing on the market," offsetting hopes for fresh US stimulus under newly installed President Joe Biden, Mizuho Securities added.

The dollar fetched 103.54 yen in early Asian trade, against 103.50 yen in New York.

Thursday's Wall Street session was choppy after all three major indices surged to records on Wednesday in anticipation of an improving economic picture thanks to Biden's stimulus plan and efforts to bolster the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

The Nasdaq finished at a second straight record behind strength in Apple, Facebook and other tech shares.

In Tokyo, Nissan was down 1.04 percent at 561.6 yen after reports said it was partially pausing production at a UK factory due to virus-related supply delays.

Its bigger rival Toyota was down 0.50 percent at 7,705 yen and Honda was down 1.09 percent at 2,860.5 yen.

Panasonic surged 4.20 percent to 1,463 yen in its fifth straight session of rallies, after it said Thursday it has developed a cool box for storing coronavirus vaccines.

Advertising firm Dentsu was down 2.81 percent at 3,110 yen after a report said Japan had internally concluded the postponed Tokyo Olympics needed to be cancelled.

Japan's core inflation, which excludes fresh food, was down 1.0 percent in December, while the headline figure for 2020 was down 0.2 percent, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry before the opening bell.