Tokyo stocks open 0.40 percent lower

TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened down 0.40 percent Tuesday on the back of negative sentiment on Wall Street, despite the market hoping for US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank stimulus action this week.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened down 34.52 points at 8,600.92.

After two big euro-driven rallies late last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session at 13,073.01 on Monday, drifting down 2.65 points or 0.02 percent.

“Since US stocks looked top-heavy on Monday, it would be difficult for Japanese shares to test higher,” Mizuho Securities senior technical analyst Yutaka Miura said.

But strong selling was unlikely to emerge, given continued expectations for further stimulus at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee and ECB meetings, Miura told Dow Jones Newswires.