Tokyo: Stocks open down 0.64% lower

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.64 per cent lower on Tuesday, hit by the yen's upturn against the dollar and losses on Wall Street.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which inched up to a new seven-year high on Monday, lost 115.40 points to 17,820.24 at the start.

Shares in Takata jumped after the Nikkei reported Honda president Takanobu Ito said in an interview with the economic daily that the automaker would step in to assist the hard-hit auto parts maker if necessary.

Takata, embroiled in massive airbag recall problems, shot up 6.29 per cent to 1,385 yen in the first few minutes of trade.

The dollar fell into the 120-yen range on profit taking on Monday after Friday's sharp rise following a surprisingly good US jobs report.

The greenback was at 120.66 yen compared with 120.78 yen in New York Monday afternoon.

A strong yen is negative for Japanese exporters as it makes them less competitive abroad and erodes profits when they are repatriated.

The euro bought US$1.2316 and 148.63 yen against US$1.2308 and 148.65 yen in US trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.59 per cent to 17,852.48 on Monday as petroleum equities fell as crude oil prices sank to a new five-year low.

AFP