Tokyo stocks open lower following Wall Street's poor performance

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday weighed down by a rout on Wall Street, but with a stable dollar-yen rate supporting the downside.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.57 per cent or 133.80 points at 23,212.69 in early trade, while the broader Topix index lost 0.56 per cent or 9.14 points to 1,635.11.

"Japanese shares are being pressured by sharp drops in US shares, but a lull in the yen's appreciation is supporting the downside," said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities.

Expectations for economic stimulus from the new Japanese administration and purchases aimed at receiving dividends are also supporting the market, he added.

The dollar fetched 105.34 in early Asian trade against 105.39 yen in New York and 105.08 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday.

Among major shares in Tokyo, Toyota declined 1.02 per cent to 7,009 yen, Panasonic was down 2.12 per cent at 906.3 yen, and Hitachi was down 2.66 per cent at 3,591 yen.

But chip-testing equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron was up 1.17 per cent at 27,235 yen and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) was up 0.69 per cent at 2,255 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 1.9 per cent, or 525 points, at 26,764.25 amid worries over a coronavirus second wave and an increasingly contentious US presidential election.