TOKYO, Feb 17 ― Tokyo stocks opened lower today on profit taking following a mixed close on Wall Street, with investors cautious about over-valuation of stocks after recent rallies.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.52 per cent or 158.70 points at 30,309.05 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.10 per cent or 1.88 points to 1,963.20.
The dollar fetched ¥106.09 (RM4.04) in early Asian trade, against ¥105.99 in New York late yesterday.
“Japanese shares are seen moving in a narrow range following a mixed close in the US market, with a sense of overheating prompting sell orders on profit-taking,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary.
Toyota was down 0.89 per cent at ¥8,229 after it said it will suspend 14 lines at nine of its 15 automobile assembly plants in Japan for up to four days as parts procurement has been affected by a powerful earthquake that hit the northeastern part of the country on Saturday.
It has also been affected by cold weather across parts of the United States.
Among its rivals, Honda was up 0.72 per cent at ¥3,083 and Nissan rose ¥2.80 to ¥619.4.
Among other shares, chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron was down 1.77 per cent at ¥43,330 while Sony was up 0.94 per cent at ¥12,355 and mega bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rose 0.71 per cent to ¥565.8.
Japan logged a trade deficit of ¥323.9 billion in January, according to finance ministry data released 10 minutes before the opening bell.
The figure ― compared with market expectations of a ¥625 billion deficit ― did not prompt a strong reaction in the market.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.2 per cent at 31,522.75, the broad-based S&P 500 closed down 0.1 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq slipped 0.3 per cent. ― AFP
