×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Tokyo stocks open lower on fresh coronavirus worries

Last Updated 14 July 2020, 06:18 IST

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday as sentiment worsened after rallies fizzled on Wall Street due to fresh worries over the coronavirus and renewed US-China tensions.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.58 percent or 131.39 points at 22,653.35 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.40 percent or 6.35 points to 1,566.67.

"Profit-taking selling is dominating early trade following volatile US market moves," said Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito.

Japanese investors were taking money off the table after a strong market gain on Monday, with the Nikkei closing up more than 2.2 percent.

However, a rally on Wall Street petered out following more signs of a coronavirus surge in the United States.

"It is hard to attribute a specific trigger for the turn in sentiment that followed in the US afternoon trading session, but it seems that California virus news and US-China tensions were the main culprits," National Australia Bank said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that Washington would treat Beijing's pursuit of resources in the dispute-rife South China Sea as illegal, ramping up support for Southeast Asian nations.

"In the past the US has called for protecting 'freedom of navigation' in the South China Sea, the overnight statement is now taking a position against China on the territorial disputes in the region," the NAB said.

The dollar fetched 107.34 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.24 yen in New York late Monday.

In Tokyo, SoftBank Group was down 2.14 percent at 6,392 yen after a report the firm was exploring a full or partial sale or public offering of its chip designing unit Arm.

Among other shares, Sony slipped 1.30 percent to 7,995 yen, Nissan was down 0.92 percent at 388.1 yen, and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was off 1.24 percent at 59,890 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up less than 0.1 percent at 26,085.80 while the Tech-rich Nasdaq ended 2.1 percent lower and the broader S&P 500 ended down 0.9 percent.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 14 July 2020, 05:05 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT