Tokyo: Stocks open lower on higher yen

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday as a higher yen against the dollar weighed on the market following a rally on Wall Street sparked by expectations of more rate cuts.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.10 per cent or 20.49 points at 21,321.25 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.29 per cent or 4.61 points at 1,564.26.

"Despite rebounds on the US stock market for the first time in the past three sessions, a higher yen is capping the upside" in Tokyo, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a note.

The US dollar fetched 106.86 yen in early Asian trade, little changed from 106.87 yen in New York but lower than 107.18 yen in Tokyo on Thursday.

In Tokyo, banks were lower with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial trading down 1.21 per cent at 535.3 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial down 0.95 per cent at 3,633 yen.

Pharmaceuticals also sank, with Takeda Pharmaceutical trading down 1.03 per cent at 3,645 yen and Daiichi Sankyo down 0.74 per cent at 6,526 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.5 per cent at 26,201.04.

AFP