Tokyo stocks open lower on US falls

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday as negative sentiment from falls on Wall Street overwhelmed support from a cheap yen against the dollar.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.57 percent or 168.03 points at 29,122.98 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.22 percent or 4.41 points to 1,971.45.

"Japanese shares are seen weighed down by falls on Wall Street" following the closely-watched US Federal Reserve meeting, Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

A cheaper yen against the dollar, however, is offering some support to the market, analysts added.

The Federal Reserve sent signals it was moving closer to tightening monetary policy while downplaying recent signs of inflation, a move that sent the dollar up against some of its major peers.

The greenback fetched 110.78 yen in early Asian trade, against 110.64 yen in New York and 110.07 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday.

Among major shares in Tokyo, Sony was down 1.87 percent at 10,500 yen, Hitachi was off 0.75 percent at 6,204 yen, and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest dropped 2.72 percent to 10,000 yen.

However some blue-chip exporters were higher with Toyota rallying 0.44 percent to 10,220 yen, its smaller rival Mazda trading up 1.40 percent at 1,016 yen and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries up 1.46 percent at 3,407 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.8 percent at 34,033.67.