Tokyo stocks open lower after mixed US close

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday in cautious trade after a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors digested the latest economic data and news on coronavirus vaccines.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.28 per cent, or 80.11 points, at 28,794.78 in early trade while the broader Topix index slipped 0.21 per cent, or 4.18 points, to 1,944.96.

"Japanese shares are seen starting with a bearish tone after the... Dow dipped again" on profit-taking, Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a note.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.2 per cent at 33,874.24 and the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq edged 0.1 per cent to a second straight record.

Investors were "awaiting fresh market-moving events" while watching the vaccination drive in Japan and digesting a US purchasing managers index for June issued overnight, senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

The dollar fetched 111.01 yen in early Asian trade, against 110.95 yen in New York late Wednesday.

In Tokyo, Eisai rallied 4.14 per cent to 12,570 yen in early trade after the Japanese pharmaceutical firm and its US partner Biogen said that their Alzheimer's drug Lecanemab has received a breakthrough therapy designation from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Lecanemab is the second drug the companies are working on to treat Alzheimer's patients. The first -- named Aduhelm -- was approved by the FDA earlier this month.

Other drugmakers were lower, with Daiichi Sankyo trading down 0.82 per cent at 2,455 yen and Takeda Pharmaceutical off 0.37 per cent at 3,719 yen.

Elsewhere, market heavyweight Fast Retailing, which operates Uniqlo, was down 0.31 per cent at 82,760 yen and construction machine maker Komatsu was off 0.76 per cent at 2,783 yen.