TOKYO, May 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower on
Wednesday, tracking losses on global markets as fears about a US-China trade
war reignited.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.49 percent or 326.88 points to
21,596.84 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 1.31 percent
or 20.96 points at 1,578.88.
“The Japanese stocks market is seen dominated by sell orders on worries
over the US-China trade war,” Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan
Online Securities, said in a commentary.
Investors were also closely watching corporate earnings reports, analysts
said.
The dollar fetched 110.10 yen in early trade, against 110.25 yen in New
York late Tuesday.
In Tokyo, Toyota was down 1.42 percent at 6,727 yen ahead of its full-year
earnings report due during Wednesday’s trading hours, and its rival Honda was
down 1.03 percent at 3,045 yen ahead of its results, due after the close.
Panasonic was down 1.18 percent at 989.8 yen ahead of its earnings report
due on Thursday.
Market heavyweight Fast Retailing, the Uniqlo operator, was down 1.32
percent at 62,460 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 1.8 percent at 25,965.09.