TOKYO, Jan 24 — Tokyo stocks opened lower today with investors disheartened by falls on Wall Street and eyeing this week’s US central bank meeting.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.76 per cent, or 210.28 points, to 27,311.98 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.73 per cent, or 14.10 points, to 1,913.08.
The dollar fetched ¥113.72 (RM4.18) in early Asian trade, against ¥113.70 in New York late Friday.
“The Japanese market is led by sell orders following falls in US shares, but bargain-hunting may emerge later,” Mizuho Securities said.
“A wait-and-see attitude may grow ahead of the January 25-26 meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee,” the brokerage added.
Wall Street stocks tumbled again on Friday, following a plunge in Netflix shares that sent the tech-rich Nasdaq index further into correction territory.
Stocks have been under pressure so far this year after the US Fed shifted to a more restrictive monetary policy path that will include interest rate increases.
Among major shares in Tokyo, Fujitsu was down 2.67 per cent at ¥18,200 and Nippon Steel was off 1.31 per cent at ¥1,879.5.
Sony Group was down 1.04 per cent at ¥12,820. — AFP
