TOKYO, April 8 ― Tokyo stocks opened lower today following a mixed close on Wall Street as investors sidestepped active trading on a shortage of fresh clues.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.42 per cent or 123.50 points at 29,607.29 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.45 per cent or 8.81 points to 1,958.62.
“Trade in Japanese shares today lacks a sense of direction, as stocks with great growth potential (such as high tech shares) are struggling despite a lull in US long-term yields,” Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
“The market is awaiting new clues for trade, and investors will probably continue their wait-and-see attitude until the US corporate earnings season begins next week,” it said.
The dollar fetched ¥109.83 (RM4.14) in early Asian trade, against ¥109.84 in New York late yesterday.
Toshiba was up 0.88 per cent at ¥4,570 after a report said it would set a ¥5,000 a share condition as it mulls a buyout offer from a British private equity fund.
Hitachi Metal jumped 5.07 per cent to ¥1,905 after a report said its parent Hitachi has given preferential negotiating rights for a sale of the metals unit to a consortium of investment funds led by the US equity fund Bain Capital in a possible deal estimated to top ¥800 billion.
Hitachi was trading down 0.75 per cent at ¥5,008.
Chip-testing equipment manufacturer Advantest dropped 3.75 per cent at ¥10,510, Toyota was down 0.84 per cent at ¥8,416, and Panasonic was off 2.53 per cent at ¥1,369.5.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.1 per cent at 33,446.26 and the broad-based S&P finished up 0.2 per cent but the tech-rich Nasdaq ended down 0.1 per cent. ― AFP
