Tokyo: Stocks open down 1.07%

[TOKYO] Tokyo shares opened 1.07 per cent lower on Wednesday following a global stocks rout on worries ranging from tightened Chinese lending rules to political uncertainty in Greece.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 190.03 points to 17,623.35 at the start.

Bucking the overall downtrend on Wednesday, shares in Skymark rose 9.09 percent to 252 yen in the first few minutes of trade.

The embattled budget airline got a boost from media reports that it plans to seek assistance from All Nippon Airways while maintaining tie-up talks with ANA's rival Japan Airlines.

Equities markets were down globally on Tuesday.

Shanghai shares plunged more than five percent on profit taking after authorities announced tighter lending rules late Monday in a move seen as a clamp-down on speculative trading.

The red tide on trading screens continued in Europe due to fears of a crisis in Greece and another bout of eurozone turmoil. It then reached as far as Argentina, where stocks fell more than seven on gloom over the oil market.

Greek stocks dived 12.78 per cent in their biggest one-day drop in nearly three decades on Tuesday after the government unexpectedly brought forward a high-stakes presidential vote to December 17, raising fears of a potential political crisis.

But in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average narrowed sharp losses in early trade.

The blue-chip index closed down 0.29 per cent at 17,801.20 as US investors have shown a strong buy-the-dip conviction all year and that trend continued Tuesday.

The yen, considered a safe haven in the time of turmoil, jumped against the dollar and euro.

The dollar was at 119.44 yen early Wednesday, down from 119.63 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon and 120.18 yen in Tokyo earlier Tuesday.

The euro fell to 147.90 yen from 148.01 yen while fetching US$1.2386 against US$1.2378.

AFP