Tokyo stocks open lower on virus worries

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday as concerns over rising coronavirus cases in Japan continued to weigh on the market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.36 percent, or 380.13 points, to 27,597.02 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 1.37 percent, or 26.76 points, to 1,929.63.

Analysts are "worried over the economic impact of record coronavirus cases in Japan", Okasan Online Securities noted.

Tokyo stocks open flat on virus worries

Japan has seen nationwide daily cases top 20,000 in recent days, driven by the highly infectious Delta variant.

The cabinet office released data on Monday showing the world's third-largest economy grew 0.3 percent in the three months to June, slightly more than expected despite the virus surge and new restrictions.

Mizuho Securities said markets are "expected to be weighed down by drops in US consumer sentiment and a stronger yen".

The University of Michigan reported its consumer sentiment index plunged to its lowest level in a decade as the Delta variant continues to spread.

The dollar fetched 109.52 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.57 in New York and 110.40 yen in Tokyo on Friday.

In Tokyo trading, Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing lost 2.14 percent to 73,810 yen while market heavyweight SoftBank Group was down 1.66 percent to 6,536 yen.

Automakers were lower with Toyota falling 1.53 percent to 9,812 yen, Honda shrinking 1.31 percent to 3,527 yen and Nissan plunging 2.69 percent to 600.3 yen.

Sony dropped 2.14 percent to 10,925 yen.