Tokyo stocks open lower following US falls

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday following losses of US shares on concerns over the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index tumbled 1.35 percent or 380.78 points to 27,737.25 at the open, while the broader Topix index fell 1.21 percent or 23.18 points to 1,897.14.

"The selling mode is expected today in Japanese markets on worries about the spread of infections in Japan and overseas," Mizuho Securities said in a note.

Japan decided on Thursday to ban fans from most Olympic events and Tokyo will be under a virus state of emergency throughout the pandemic-postponed Games.

Tokyo stocks close lower on virus concerns

"The markets have been supported by expectations on economic growth before...but now investors question whether the economy will normalise given a new wave of Covid-19 because of new variants and stagnation of economic indications," Okasan Online Securities said.

Wall Street stocks fell Thursday, pulling back from records, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.8 percent to 34,421.93.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent to 4,320.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.7 percent to 14,559.79.

In Tokyo trading, Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing lost 1.20 percent to 78,940 yen while market heavyweight SoftBank Group dropped 1.43 percent to 7,274 yen.

Automakers were lower with Toyota sinking 0.87 percent to 9,590 yen, Honda falling 1.75 percent to 3,410 yen and Nissan plunging 2.86 percent to 562 yen.

Game giant Nintendo jumped 1.91 percent to 64,370 yen.

The dollar fetched 109.84 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.73 yen in New York Thursday.