TOKYO, Japan (AFP)–Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday, with falls in US high-tech shares and a higher yen weighing on the market.
The benchmark Nikkei index fell 0.58 percent or 129.42 points to 22,358.52 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.44 percent or 7.38 points at 1,685.03.
The dollar fetched 110.42 yen in early Asian trade, 110.86 yen in New York in New York late Thursday.
“Falls in US high tech shares are contributing to weak trade in Japan,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.
“The yen is being bought on fears over US-China trade issues and concerns over emerging markets, which is weighing on the market,” it added.
In Tokyo, Sony was down 2.19 percent at 6,150 yen and Panasonic was down 2.01 percent at 1,267.5 yen.
Toyota was down 1.07 percent at 6,954 yen while Nissan was off 0.48 percent at 1,022.5 yen.
Hokkaido Electric, which plunged 6.43 percent on the previous day, was up 0.98 percent at 720, after it announced it had restored power to more than 40 percent of homes in quake-hit Hokkaido on Friday.
In New York, the Dow advanced 0.1 percent to end at 25,995.87, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.9 percent to close at 7,922.17.
© Agence France-Presse