Tokyo: Stocks open 0.37% lower

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.37 per cent lower on Friday after the European Central Bank's decision not to expand its stimulus for now disappointed markets.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which closed at a fresh seven-year high on Thursday, fell 65.36 points to 17,821.85 at the start.

"We can expect 50-100 point falls" in the key index after the ECB stopped short of expanding its stimulus at a monthly policy meeting, said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.

Stimulus efforts by major central banks tend to support asset prices globally.

Many market participants are also reluctant to trade aggressively ahead of the key US jobs data to be released later Friday.

The dollar rose past 120 yen for the first time since July 2007 briefly on Thursday before easing back to 119.77 yen in New York Thursday afternoon.

The greenback was at 119.79 yen in early Asian trade Friday.

The euro rebounded Thursday after the ECB put off a possible full quantitative easing programme to early next year.

The common European currency bought US$1.2384 and 148.33 yen on Friday against US$1.2380 and 148.27 yen in US trade on Thursday.

On equity markets the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.07 per cent to 17,900.10 on Thursday, following Europe lower after the ECB decision.

AFP