Tokyo: Stocks open lower on virus worries, strong yen

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday after plunges last week on lingering worries over the spread of the new coronavirus, with the yen firming against the US dollar.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.09 per cent or 230.80 points to 20,912.16 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 1.26 per cent or 18.99 points at 1,491.88.

Investors are "watching the number of patients short-term, while governments of relevant countries are readying measures" including economic stimulus, Yukino Yamada, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, said in a commentary.

"In the Tokyo market, concerns are emerging that shares have oversold," she said, adding that the steady rebound in the market "will be when the number of patients in the world peaks".

The US dollar slipped to 107.70 yen in early Asian trade against 108.06 yen in New York on Friday as investors sought safe haven assets including the Japanese currency.

In Tokyo, some blue-chip exporters were lower, with Toyota dropping 1.79 per cent to 6,999 yen, Honda trading down 2.41 per cent at 2,732 yen, and Panasonic down 1,01 per cent at 1,020 yen.

But Sony was up 1.37 per cent at 6,702 yen and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was up 1.93 per cent at 5,010 yen as some investors bought on dips after five consecutive days of rout in Tokyo.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 1.4 per cent at 25,409.36.

AFP