Tokyo, :Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday after falls on Wall Street as investors remained cautious over coronavirus fears and the Fed’s decision to accelerate its withdrawal of pandemic stimulus.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.68 percent, or 194.08 points, at 28,351.60 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.79 points, or 15.64 points, to 1,968.83.
“Japanese shares are starting with falls following losses in US stocks,” which were weighed down by worries over the Omicron coronavirus variant and uncertainties about the US central bank’s winding down of its pandemic stimulus, senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said.
Share prices will likely be volatile this week as many foreign investors are taking Christmas holidays, thinning the volume of trade, analysts added.
The dollar fetched 113.53 yen in early Asian trade, against 113.72 yen in New York late Friday.
Among major shares, Toyota fell 1.14 percent to 2,078.5 yen after reports that it will further curb the output of its domestic plants due to a supply chain crunch in Southeast Asia.
Honda was similarly down 2.52 percent at 3,119 yen, after reports that it will cut output in one domestic plant by a further 10 percent due to a parts shortage.
Eisai dipped 0.42 percent to 6,944 yen after a key panel of the European Union’s drugs regulator reportedly gave a negative assessment of an Alzheimer’s treatment developed by the pharmaceutical company’s partner Biogen, dimming hopes for marketing the drug in Europe.
