Tokyo stocks open lower on risk off sentimentTokyo stocks open lower on risk off sentiment

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday on
continued risk-off sentiment, tracking falls on Wall Street as a higher yen
weighed on the market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.61 percent or 133.88 points at
21,964.96 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.54 percent
or 8.76 points at 1,614.18.

“Japanese shares are starting with selling pressure following falls in the
US market, with a cheaper yen” weighing on the market, Toshiyuki Kanayama,
senior market analyst at Monex said in a commentary.

The dollar fetched 107.13 yen, against 107.09 yen in New York and 107.57
yen in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Wall Street fell Tuesday as congressional Democrats moved towards
launching formal impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

The news triggered “a sell-off in US equities, a solid bid in US
Treasuries and broad decline in the USD,” wrote National Australia Bank’s
strategist Rodrigo Catril in a note.

In Tokyo, some exporters were lower with game giant Nintendo trading down
3.16 percent at 41,010 yen and Toyota down 1.66 percent at 7,337 yen.

SoftBank Group was down 2.20 percent after a report that US fair trade
authorities called for a pause of the merger between T-mobile and SoftBank-
controlled Sprint.