TOKYO, Japan (AFP)–Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday tracking falls on Wall Street that were led by weakness in tech shares as trade war worries linger.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.39 percent or 85.21 points to 21,770.33 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.24 percent or 4.07 points at 1,688.73.
Analysts said tech shares suffered partly due to news that a Chinese court temporarily banned US Micron Technologies from selling its products.
“The market has been rightly besotted with trade tension news with July 6 looming for the imposition of those additional tariffs from the US and China,” David de Garis, economist at National Australia Bank, said in a note to clients.
Trading volume in Tokyo is likely to be thin and “a wait-and-see attitude could dominate the market as the US market is closed for the Independence Day holiday” on Wednesday, SBI Securities said in a commentary.
The dollar fetched 110.42 yen in Asian trade, against 110.59 yen in New York late Tuesday.
In Tokyo, semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron dropped 4.01 percent to 17,820 and semiconductor testing devices maker Advantest dived 4.63 percent to 2,181 yen.
Game giant Nintendo was down 3.26 percent at 35,240 yen and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was down 1.69 percent at 48,690 yen.
In New York, the Dow closed down 0.5 percent at 24,172.82 while the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 0.9 percent to 7,502.67.
© Agence France-Presse