TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday, tracking falls on Wall Street as concerns grow over inflation and oil prices surge.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 1.27 percent or 355.28 points at 27,684.88 in early trade, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.01 percent or 20.01 points to 1,958.69.
The dollar fetched 121.17 yen in early Asian trade, against 121.12 yen in New York late Wednesday.
The Nikkei is likely to start with a selling spree “on fears of accelerating inflation, taking cues from Wall Street falls last night,” Okasan Online Securities said.
Reports that the United States is looking to further ramp up sanctions against Russia also weighed on market sentiment.
US stocks ended sharply lower as “the harsh reality sets in that the Fed most likely won’t be able to navigate a soft landing,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, referring to the US central bank’s battle against inflation.
Geopolitical risks will also “continue to keep upward pressures on prices and force the Fed into a difficult decision later this year,” he said, following increasingly aggressive comments from Federal Reserve officials about possible interest rate hikes.
SoftBank Group gained 1.19 percent to 5,486 yen, Sony Group lost 1.36 percent to 12,670 yen, and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing slid 0.64 percent to 63,400 yen.
Toyota advanced 1.54 percent to 2,170 yen.
Embattled conglomerate Toshiba, which will hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting Thursday to vote on a plan to split into two, was down 0.22 percent at 4,774 yen.
The proposal to spin off Toshiba’s electronic devices segment has already faced staunch opposition from activist investors.
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