TOKYO, March 9 ― Tokyo's key Nikkei index opened lower today after a mixed close on Wall Street as investors adjusted their positions.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.28 per cent or 81.75 points at 28,661.50 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.16 per cent or 2.94 points to 1,896.52.
“Following a patchy performance in US shares, (investors in) Japanese stocks are seen trying to find out where the lowest price lines are,” said senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities.
Bargain-hunting in sectors such as energy, banking, and medicine are likely to continue, he added.
The dollar fetched ¥108.92 (RM4.12) in early Asian trade, against ¥108.88 in New York late yesterday.
Japan's October-December GDP growth was revised down to 2.8 per cent from a preliminary estimate of 3.0 per cent, due to changes in private inventories, according to government data released 10 minutes before the opening bell.
The latest reading did not prompt a strong market reaction.
Among major shares in Tokyo, banks kept rallying, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gaining 1.36 per cent to ¥588.9 and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial up 1.38 per cent to ¥3,967.
Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 0.64 per cent at ¥3,930, rallying for the second straight day after it filed a request with Japanese health authorities for approval of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine.
Meanwhile Panasonic plunged 5.41 per cent to ¥1,347 after a report said the electronics giant is set to buy US software developer Blue Yonder for ¥700 billion.
Sony dropped 3.22 per cent to ¥10,665 after a brokerage firm downgraded its evaluation of the shares.
On Wall Street, the Dow finished up 1.0 per cent at 31,802.44 while the tech-rich Nasdaq tumbled 2.4 per cent and the broad-based S&P declined 0.5 per cent. ― AFP
