Tokyo shares open lower

TOKYO: Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index opened lower Wednesday after US shares dropped on inflation worries.

The Nikkei 225 lost 0.20 percent, or 58.19 points, to 29,227.27 in early trade, while the broader Topix index eased 0.01 percent, or 0.15 points, to 2,018.62.

The dollar stood at 112.92 yen, compared with 112.87 yen in New York on Tuesday.

The early drop in Tokyo trading came after falls on Wall Street, where the Dow eased 0.3 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq index shed 0.6 percent.

Tokyo stocks open higher extending US gains

"Tokyo shares are expected to trend softer after the weak performance of US technology shares," Okasan Online Securities said.

The US market came under pressure as fresh data showed wholesale prices in the world's largest economy remained high in October as it battled a wave of inflation.

But US shares also faced profit-taking in a temporary adjustment after ending at fresh record highs on Monday, Okasan said.

Tokyo stocks have so far avoided sharp falls in reaction to the overnight drops on Wall Street, partly because the Nikkei has been trending down for a few days, brokers said.

And investors remain hopeful that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will launch a fresh round of stimulus programmes to prop up the economy, according to Okasan.

Among major shares, Sony Group gave up early gains and trended down 0.54 percent to 13,775 yen. The company and Taiwanese chip giant TSMC announced Tuesday that they will jointly build a new $7 billion plant in Japan.

Toshiba rebounded 1.63 percent to 4,924 yen after losing 2.61 percent on Tuesday after reports that the engineering conglomerate will split into three firms.

Nissan, which tripled its annual net profit forecast on Tuesday, leaped 7.53 percent to 634.1. Toyota added 0.58 percent to 2,006.5 yen.

Among tech shares, chipmaker Murata Manufacturing fell 0.12 percent to 8,454 yen. Kyocera gave up 0.57 percent to 6,952 yen.

Advantest, producer of chip testing kits, fell 1.87 percent to 9,950 yen.

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing fell 0.47 percent to 75,670.