Tokyo: Stocks open 0.22% lower

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.22 per cent lower on Friday after three days of gains that pushed the Nikkei index to a 15-year high.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 45.18 points to 20,142.47 at the start.

The lower opening came despite gains on Wall Street.

In New York the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange hit a new record Thursday, breaking through the old mark set at the peak of the dot-com boom in 2000.

The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.42 per cent to finish at 5,056.06, finally making up the nearly 4,000 points lost in a stunning crash that followed the previous closing high set on March 10, 2000.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.11 per cent while the S&P added 0.24 per cent.

The dollar bought 119.58 yen early Friday compared with 119.55 yen in New York late Thursday.

The euro was trading in narrow ranges after firming ahead of a eurozone finance ministers meeting as Greece seeks to strike a deal with creditors to avert a bailout default.

The euro bought US$1.0811 and 129.29 yen against US$1.0823 and 129.39 yen in US trade.

AFP