Tokyo stocks open lower as investors hunt leads

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday after subdued US trade, as investors sought fresh market-moving events.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.28 percent or 80.89 points at 28,882.67 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.12 percent or 2.38 points to 1,960.27.

"The Japanese market is starting in a narrow range following a mixed performance by US stocks," senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said in a note.

Wall Street stocks finished a choppy session little changed as markets digested data showing a lower US trade deficit.

Equities have been choppy in recent weeks as investors have assessed the upside of the reopening economy against worries over inflation and supply chain troubles.

This week's calendar includes crucial US consumer price data on Thursday that could either exacerbate or mitigate inflation worries.

The dollar fetched 109.46 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.49 yen in New York late Tuesday.

In Tokyo, pharmaceutical firm Eisai was unpriced in early trade for a second straight day as it was overwhelmed by buy orders after the United States approved the Alzheimer's drug it developed with Biogen, the first new medicine against the disease in almost two decades.

In the previous day's trade, the firm eventually soared 19.35 percent to close at 9,251 yen.

The Japanese health ministry may approve the drug by the end of this year, the latest local reports said.

Among other shares, Sony was down 2.28 percent at 10,750 yen, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was off 2.49 percent at 9,800 yen, and shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was down 1.75 percent at 4,785 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow finished down 0.1 percent at 34,599.82, the broad-based S&P was flat, and the tech-rich Nasdaq advanced 0.3 percent.