BCN-03 Tokyo stocks open lower on firm yen amid uncertainty

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ZCZC

BCN-03

STOCKS-MARKETS-JAPAN-OPEN

Tokyo stocks open lower on firm yen amid uncertainty

TOKYO, Nov 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday,
with a higher yen and falls on Wall Street weighing on the market along with
worries including Brexit uncertainty and falling oil prices.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.85 percent or 186.41 points at
21,660.07 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.64 percent
or 10.44 points at 1,630.82.

The dollar was quoted at 113.53 yen in early Asian trade, down from 113.64
yen in New York and 113.91 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday.

“The Japanese market is subdued with unimpressive US shares having
negative impact,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

A higher yen against the dollar is also discouraging investors from
actively buying, it added.

Currency traders are watching “falls in oil prices, Brexit, the Italian
fiscal issue, falls in US share prices, and US trade policy,” Mizuho
Securities said in a commentary.

In Tokyo, automakers were among losers, with Toyota trading down 0.62
percent at 6,625 yen, Honda down 1.02 percent at 3,190 yen and Nissan off
1.27 percent at 1,009.5 yen.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial was down 2.77 percent at 4,307 yen after its
July-September quarter net income rose 37 percent on-year to 245.6 billion
yen ($2.16 billion) and it announced it was setting up an equity sales and
trading team in the US.

On Wall Street, the Dow closed down 0.8 percent at 25,080.50.

BSS/AFP/HR/0920