Tokyo: Stocks open 0.51% lower

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.51 per cent lower on Monday, following falls on Wall Street as a solid US jobs report raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon hike interest rates.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 106.25 points to 20,618.31 at the start.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.27 per cent while the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.29 per cent.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.26 per cent.

The Labor Department said the US economy added 215,000 jobs last month and that unemployment held steady at a seven-year-low rate of 5.3 per cent.

The report brought the average monthly jobs gains to 235,000 over the past three months, heightening expectations that the Fed could raise its near-zero federal funds rate as early as next month.

In Tokyo currency markets, the dollar fetched 124.35 yen early Monday against 124.22 yen in New York late Friday.

The euro was at US$1.0957 and 136.25 yen compared with US$1.0962 and 136.16 yen in US trade.

AFP