Tokyo stocks open lower on Biden tax hike reports

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday after Wall Street tumbled following reports the Biden administration is considering a tax hike on the wealthy.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.12 percent or 326.43 points to 28,861.74 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.70 percent or 13.55 points at 1,980.95.

"The Japanese market is seen experiencing a lull after US shares dropped... as the atmosphere in the markets worsened significantly after reports that President Biden will hike a tax on capital gains for wealthy people," Yoshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a note.

The dollar fetched 107.87 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.94 yen in New York late Thursday.

Japan's core consumer price index that excludes fresh food was down 0.1 percent in March year-on-year, the eighth consecutive monthly decline, the internal affairs ministry said before the opening bell.

The figure, which compares with market expectations of a 0.2 percent decline, did not prompt a strong market reaction.

Among major shares in Tokyo, electronic parts maker Nidec dropped 7.27 percent to 12,955 yen, after it said it forecasts operating profit of 180 billion yen ($740 million) for the current fiscal year to March, against market estimate of 198.6 billion yen.

Toyota was down 1.36 percent at 8,254 yen and Panasonic was off 0.92 percent at 1,343.5 yen.

Rakuten was up 0.14 percent after its mobile unit said it will start offering mobile service contracts for the 5G iPhone 12.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.9 percent at 33,815.90.