Tokyo stocks open lower on inflation worries

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday, tracking falls on Wall Street, where a tech rally faded as weak housing start data fuelled inflation fears.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.39 percent or 393.49 points to 28,013.35 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.98 percent or 18.73 points at 1,889.01.

"Japanese shares are seen starting with falls after US stocks dropped, led by declines in tech stocks," which are sensitive to economic cycles, Okasan Online Securities senior analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama said.

Weaker-than-expected housing start data was partly to blame for the falls on Wall Street, analysts said, as it sparked concern that inflation could have a negative effect on the world's largest economy.

The dollar fetched 108.90 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.91 yen in New York late Tuesday.

In Tokyo trade, Toyota was down 0.63 percent at 8,763 yen, Hitachi was off 2.06 percent at 5,372 yen, and Olympus was down 0.78 percent at 2,153 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.9 percent at 34,060.66, the broad-based S&P 500 closed down 0.9 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq lost 0.6 percent.