Tokyo: Stocks open 1.39% lower

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 1.39 per cent lower on Tuesday after Wall Street shares continued to come under selling pressure, while the dollar remained weak against the yen.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 236.98 points to 16,862.42 at the start.

"Weakness in oil prices is contributing to the Wall Street slump. Global markets are still in a correction phase, with Japan feeling the fallout," SMBC Nikko Securities equities manager Hiroichi Nishi said.

"In thinly trade markets, volatility tends to be higher," Nishi told Dow Jones Newswires.

US stocks followed European markets by falling on Monday after another big drop in world oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.58 per cent to 17,180.84, while the broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.63 per cent to 1,989.63.

WTI and Brent crude oil prices sank to their lowest price in more than five and a half years on worries about excess supplies.

The dollar was buying 117.80 yen early Tuesday against 117.81 yen in New York Monday afternoon.

The euro rose to 146.61 yen from 146.50 yen and to US$1.2442 from US$1.2435 in US trade.

AFP