TOKYO, May 20 ― Tokyo stocks opened lower today with investors disheartened by falls on Wall Street, as bitcoin plunged and worries surged over Fed policy changes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.48 per cent or 134.79 points at 27,909.66 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.25 per cent or 4.82 points to 1,890.42.

"Japanese shares are seen starting with declines on Wall Street falls, but bargain-hunting purchases may emerge after the Nikkei dipped below the 28,000 mark,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior analyst at Monex, said in a note.

Wall Street stocks finished modestly lower, with oil-related equities diving as Federal Reserve minutes showed the US central bank inching closer to shifting monetary policy.

Bitcoin meanwhile shed a whopping 30 per cent at one point after China signalled a new crackdown on the cryptocurrency.

The dollar fetched ¥109.27 (RM452.46) in early Asian trade, against ¥109.21 in New York late yesterday.

In Tokyo, shares in SoftBank Group rallied 1.37 per cent to ¥8,586 after reports said US investment fund BlackRock doubled its stake in the Japanese company to 5.2 per cent.

Toyota was down 0.33 per cent at ¥8,670 and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was off 0.92 per cent at ¥85,360, but Sony was up 0.67 per cent at ¥10,490.

Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 0.16 per cent at ¥3,774 after reports said Japanese authorities will likely this week approve the use of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, which the Japanese firm will import.

But Daiichi Sankyo was down 1.28 per cent at ¥2,590 despite reports that the AstraZeneca vaccines it produces will also be approved by Japanese authorities.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.5 per cent at 33,896.04. ― AFP