TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday as concern grew that US inflation could prompt more aggressive central bank policies to contain prices.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.21 percent or 62.54 points at 29,044.24 at the open, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.10 percent or 2.08 points to 2,005.88.
The indexes then hovered between negative and positive territory in cautious trade, as "falls in all three US indices following US consumer price index data weigh on the Japanese market," Okasan Online Securities said.
Investors are "staying away from active trade ahead of the settlement of derivatives" later this week, the brokerage added.
Tokyo stocks open higher extending US gains
The US consumer price index surged 6.2 percent in the 12 months to October, a 30-year high amid rising oil, auto and housing prices.
Some economists think the US Federal Reserve will have to be more aggressive to contain prices, pulling back more quickly on its bond-buying program and potentially raising the key borrowing rate multiple times next year.
The dollar fetched 113.27 yen in early Asian trade, against 113.87 yen in New York late Wednesday.
In Tokyo, Mazda was up 0.39 percent at 1,038 yen after it reported a better-than-expected quarterly operating profit.
Its bigger rival Toyota was up 0.50 percent at 2,015.5 yen while Honda was down 0.49 percent at 3,244 yen.
Airlines and shipping firms were higher after reports said the government could resume a domestic tourism campaign as early as January, with JAL trading up 0.71 percent at 2,545 yen and Nippon Yusen up 1.05 percent at 7,680 yen.
Meanwhile, investment giant SoftBank Group was off 1.22 percent at 6,474 yen, IT and electronics firm Fujitsu was off 0.78 percent at 20,325 yen, and chip maker Renesas Electronics was down 0.62 percent at 1,444 yen.
Comments
Comments are closed.