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STOCKS-JAPAN-OPEN
Tokyo stocks open lower on stronger yen, trade worries
TOKYO, June 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday,
following end of the week losses on Wall Street amid escalating global trade
tension, with a stronger yen also weighing on the market.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.42 percent or 292.43 points to
20,308.76 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 1.38 percent
or 20.90 points at 1,491.38.
“A higher yen is seen weighing on the market, after US shares slumped due
to the announcement of new tariffs on all Mexican imports by the US Trump
administration,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in
a note.
US President Donald Trump’s surprise threat Thursday to place duties on
all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10 and rising to
as high as 25 percent, rattled world markets on Friday.
On Sunday, Trump stepped up his attacks on Mexico over immigration as a
top aide warned the US president is “deadly serious” about imposing tariffs
on imports from the southern neighbour.
“People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The
problem is that Mexico is an ‘abuser’ of the United States, taking but never
giving,” Trump said in a series of tweets Sunday.
China on Sunday warned that while it wants resolution of a trade war with
the US through talks, there will be no compromise on its core principles.
The dollar fetched 108.26 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.35 yen in
New York and 108.92 yen in Tokyo afternoon hours on Friday.
In Tokyo, electronics and chip-linked shares were broadly lower, with
Sharp dropping 2.12 percent to 967 yen, chip-testing equipment maker
Advantest losing 1.56 percent to 2,511 yen and chip-making equipment
manufacturer Tokyo Electron down 2.26 percent at 14,455 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 1.4 percent at 24,815.04.
BSS/AFP/HR/0950