Tokyo: Stocks open 0.58% lower

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.58 per cent lower Monday on early profit-taking after 11 straight days of gains and modest drops on Wall Street.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange slipped 118.61 points to 20,444.54 at the start.

The benchmark index rose for an 11th consecutive day Friday, the longest upward trend since a 13-day run in February 1988 during the height of Japan's stock market bubble.

In New York, stocks fell modestly Friday as a key consumer confidence measure came in lower and the government confirmed that the economy contracted in the first quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.64 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.63 per cent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.55 per cent.

The market was also being cautious going into the weekend with no deal in sight in Greece's crunch bailout talks with official creditors.

In forex trading, the dollar was at 124.17 yen early Monday against 124.12 yen late Friday in New York.

The greenback climbed to 124.46 briefly on Thursday, hitting the highest level since December 2002.

The weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and increases profits when repatriated.

The euro slipped to $1.0965 and 136.15 yen from $1.0991 and 136.42 yen.

AFP