TOKYO: Tokyo shares opened sharply lower Friday following a negative lead on Wall Street amid lingering worries over surging global inflation and the prospect of rising interest rates.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 2.00 percent or 554.31 points to 27,218.62 in early trade, while the broader Topix index lost 1.65 percent or 31.92 points to 1,906.61.
"The Nikkei index is likely to fall (after rising the previous day)," following losses of US shares, Mizuho Securities said in a note.
"Selling is likely to dominate in the Japanese market as losses of US futures in off-hours trading are widening," it added.
Tokyo shares rebound as China cuts lending rate
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 34,715.39, down 0.9 percent and a 775-point drop from its session peak.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.1 percent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.3 percent.
The dollar fetched 113.88 yen in early Asian trade, down from 114.18 yen in New York on Thursday.
Before the opening bell, the Japanese government released data showing that core consumer prices edged up year-on-year in December for the fourth month running, buoyed partly by higher energy prices.
In Tokyo trading, Toyota plummeted 4.01 percent to 2,248.5 yen after announcing on Thursday they will halt up to 11 plants for three business days due to coronavirus cases among workers. Other automakers were also lower, with investors discouraged by a stronger yen.
Honda lost 1.52 percent to 3,368 yen while Nissan plunged 2.63 percent to 601.8 yen.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group dropped 2.02 percent to 5,415 yen while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing fell 1.65 percent to 66,520 yen.
Sony tumbled 2.81 percent to 12,765 yen.
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