Tokyo: Stocks open lower with eyes on Japan virus policy

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday, tracking falls on Wall Street, with traders watching the Japanese government's expected partial lifting of a state of emergency imposed over the coronavirus outbreak.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.70 per cent or 141.50 points at 20,125.55 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.68 per cent or 10.06 points to 1,464.63.

"Japanese shares are seen slipping as investors were disheartened by falls in US shares" on downbeat comments from the head of the US Federal Reserve, said Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, in a note.

Investors are also watching the Japanese government's expected decision to lift a state of emergency in parts of the country.

But "expectations for the resumption of economic activity are receding", with various reports suggesting there will be continued limits on business activity, Okasan Online Security's chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said.

The US dollar fetched 106.92 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.03 yen in New York on Thursday.

In Tokyo, Sony dropped 3.66 per cent to 6,810 yen after it said its annual net profit tumbled 36.5 per cent on lower revenue from games and electronics products, warning of a tough year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Takeda Pharmaceutical rallied 5.09 per cent to 4,045 yen after it said it expects an operating profit of 355 billion yen for the current year to March 2021, a figure better than market expectations.

Automakers were among losers, with Honda trading down 2.63 per cent at 2,455.5 yen and Toyota off 1.75 per cent at 6,272 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 2.2 per cent at 23,247.97.

AFP