Tokyo stocks open lower ahead of holidays

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday with profit-taking selling ahead of the Golden Week holidays in Japan weighing on the market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.35 percent, or 102.24 points, at 28,889.65 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.09 percent, or 1.75 points, to 1,901.80.

"Japanese trade is seen subdued after European and US bourses saw profit-taking while Tokyo investors are increasingly adjusting their positions ahead of a set of holidays," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

The Japanese market will be closed on Thursday and then from Monday through Wednesday next week for national holidays.

A relatively cheaper yen against the dollar, however, is supporting exporters, while investors were focusing on shares with sound corporate earnings, analysts added.

The dollar fetched 108.84 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.68 yen in New York late Tuesday.

Sony rallied 3.01 percent to 11,795 yen ahead of its earnings report due after market close, while chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was up 1.53 percent at 10,640 yen after it reported a better-than-expected fourth quarter operating profit.

Nomura Holdings was up 1.54 percent at 591.9 yen after it confirmed losses of $2.3 billion for fiscal 2020-2021 linked to the sudden liquidation of holdings by US hedge fund Archegos.

Shipping firms were among losers, with Nippon Yusen trading down 3.35 percent at 4,035 yen and its rival Mitsui O.S.K. Lines off 2.59 percent at 4,135 yen.

Among other shares, Nippon Steel was off 2.16 percent at 1,855.5 yen and plant engineering firm JGC Holdings was down 1.50 percent at 1,246 yen.

Wall Street equities were mostly flat while tech shares dropped amid a flurry of quarterly earnings and ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting.

The Dow closed essentially unchanged at 33,984.93, as did the broad-based S&P 500, while the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 0.3 percent.