Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday, dragged down by a higher yen and worries over China.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which fell for three straight days to Friday before a long weekend, lost another 0.98 percent or 232.01 points to 23,551.71 in early trade while the broader Topix index was down 0.85 percent or 15.26 points at 1,777.39, reports BSS.
“Export stocks will come under selling pressure as the yen’s appreciation prompts caution,” SBI Securities said in a commentary.
A strong yen is negative for Japanese exporters as it erodes their profit earned overseas when repatriated. The dollar was trading at 113.03 yen, down from 113.16 yen in New York on Monday afternoon and near 114 yen before Tokyo markets closed Friday for the three-day weekend.
Chinese stocks tumbled on Monday as investors returned to a rash of negative news that had accumulated over a week-long holiday, from disappointing economic data to worsening tensions with the United States.
Italy’s budget also remains a concern in Europe and US technology shares endured another sharp decline for the third day in a row, noted Rodrigo Catril, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at National Australia Bank.
The Japanese yen “has been the main beneficiary from the risk-off tone”, he said in a client note.
In individual stocks trade, Toyota fell 2.54 percent to 6,824 yen and IT investor SoftBank Group lost 2.25 percent to 10,825 yen.
