TOKYO, May 1 — Tokyo stocks opened lower today, extending falls on Wall Street following another round of poor economic data.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 1.39 per cent, or 280.44 points, at 19,913.25 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.85 per cent, or 12.49 points, to 1,451.54.

"Sell-orders are seen dominating early trade in the Japanese stocks market following falls in US shares,” Okasan Online Securities said.

Traders in Tokyo time were also watching for news on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s health, and reports that the Japanese government will extend a nationwide state of emergency over the coronavirus, Okasan senior strategist Rikiya Takebe said.

Some investors were also trading to adjust their positions ahead of the so-called Golden Week holiday through Wednesday, analysts said.

The dollar fetched ¥107.35 (RM4.31) in early Asian trade, against ¥107.23 in New York late yesterday.

In Tokyo, some blue-chip exporters were lower, with automaker Mazda trading down 3.59 per cent at ¥590, Sony off 1.77 per cent at ¥6,809 and Olympus down 3.56 per cent at ¥1,664.

Japan Airlines was down 1.44 per cent at ¥1,912 after it said late yesterday its annual net profit plunged nearly 65 per cent to ¥53.4 billion (US$500 million) due to the impact of the pandemic on aviation demand.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial was down 1.98 per cent at ¥425.7 after it cut its net profit projection for the year to March by 40 per cent from the previous estimate to ¥520 billion.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 1.2 per cent at 24,345.72 after the Labour Department reported another spike in jobless claims. — AFP