Tokyo: Stocks fall more than 3% at open

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened down more than three per cent on Monday, as traders fret about the spreading coronavirus with a higher yen against the dollar also weighing on the market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 3.26 per cent or 631.50 points at 18,757.93 in early trade, while the broader Topix index dropped 3.17 per cent or 46.30 points to 1,413.19.

The dollar fetched 107.55 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.88 yen in New York on Friday.

"Japanese shares are seen dominated by profit-taking sales following falls in US shares with the trend of a higher yen," Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 4.1 per cent at 21,636.78.

AFP

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