TOKYO, Jan 19 ― Tokyo shares opened lower today, tracking losses on Wall Street where worries over higher interest rates mounted.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.68 per cent or 474.38 points to 27,782.87 in early trade, while the broader Topix index lost 1.63 per cent or 32.21 points to 1,946.17.

"A sell-off of Japanese stocks is likely to be sparked after US shares fell on a sharp rise in US long-term interest rates,” Mizuho Securities said in a note.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.5 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.8 per cent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 2.6 per cent.

The dollar fetched ¥114.66 (RM4.19) in early Asian trade, against ¥114.60 in New York yesterday.

In Tokyo trading, Sony Group plummeted 9.38 per cent to ¥12,895 after Microsoft announced a landmark ¥$69 billion deal to buy US gaming giant Activision Blizzard, betting big on the prospects of the video game market.

Chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron dropped 4.01 per cent to ¥62,930 while chip-testing equipment maker Advantest tumbled 3.89 per cent to ¥10,360.

Automakers were lower with Toyota dropping 3.21 per cent to ¥2,345.5, Nissan falling 1.78 per cent to ¥621.5 and Honda shrinking 1.70 per cent to ¥3,451. ― AFP