Tokyo Stocks Open Lower

AFP/APP

Tokyo: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday after the US Dow slipped overnight despite rallies in Wall Street’s tech-rich Nasdaq index and S&P following a surge in Apple shares.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.58 percent, or 225.71 points, at 38,909.08 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.66 percent, or 18.42 points, to 2,758.38.

“The Japanese market is expected to start with losses after the Dow index in the US market fell,” senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said.

The Dow dipped 0.3 percent overnight, but the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rallied to fresh records.

Global investors are awaiting a US Federal Reserve interest rate decision later on Wednesday as well as the release of consumer price data.

The dollar fetched 157.11 yen in early Asian trade, unchanged from the level in New York overnight.

In Tokyo, drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo was down 3.03 percent at 5,595 yen, and Mitsubishi Estate was off 2.24 percent at 2,574.5 yen.

Construction machine maker Komatsu was down 2.09 percent at 4,543 yen.

Sony Group was off 0.64 percent at 13,255 yen. Toyota was down 1.51 percent at 3,205 yen.