TOKYO: Tokyo shares opened lower on Friday tracking falls on Wall Street as worries about the Russian invasion of Ukraine mounted.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.71 percent, or 197.32 points, to 27,624.11 at the open, while the broader Topix index lost 0.69 percent, or 13.36 points, to 1,933.04.
“Selling is likely to be dominant in the Tokyo market following falls of US shares,” Mizuho Securities said in a note.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.6 percent while the broad-based S&P 500 finished down 1.6 percent.
Tokyo stocks open lower as Ukraine hopes recede
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.5 percent.
Investors were eyeing the situation in Ukraine as US President Joe Biden said he was “sceptical” about Moscow’s claim to be scaling back its onslaught in parts of the country.
The dollar was slightly up to 121.96 yen from 121.69 yen in New York, but down from 122.27 yen in Tokyo on Thursday.
According to data released before the opening bell, confidence among major manufacturers receded for the first time in seven quarters due to the impact of the Ukraine crisis.
In Tokyo trading, Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing fell 1.19 percent to 62,240 yen, while SoftBank Group dropped 2.89 percent to 5,398 yen.
Automakers were lower with Toyota losing 1.52 percent to 2,188.5 yen, Honda tumbling 2.33 percent to 3,409 yen and Nissan sliding 1.42 percent to 540 yen.
Toshiba jumped 5.37 percent to 4,900 yen after local media reported US equity firm Bain Capital is preparing a buyout offer for the Japanese conglomerate.
Toshiba however said in a statement on Friday that it was not involved in discussions on a buyout.
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