TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened slightly lower Tuesday on a stronger yen as investors snapped up the safe haven currency following the latest flare-up between Washington and North Korea.
The bellwether Nikkei 225 index fell 0.22 percent, or 43.99 points, to 20,353.59 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.08 percent, or 1.30 points, at 1,671.52.
Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary that Japanese shares were following Wall Street lower and traders were profit-taking after healthy gains in recent days.
The dollar was under pressure as North Korea accused US President Donald Trump of declaring war against it in the latest exchange of verbal threats.
In early Asian trade, the dollar traded 111.65 yen, down from 111.70 yen in New York and 112.23 yen in Tokyo on Monday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Industrial Average ended down 0.2 percent at 22,206.09.
Turning to individual stocks in Tokyo, exporters were among the losers as a stronger currency weighed. Panasonic traded down 0.90 percent at 1,595.5 yen, Tokyo Electron lost 1.79 percent at 16,980 yen and Olympus declined 0.90 percent at 3,815 yen.
© Agence France-Presse