Tokyo stocks open 1.47 percent lower

AP FILE PHOTO

TOKYO–Tokyo stocks opened 1.47 percent lower on Friday following a drop on Wall Street and hit by the yen’s rise against the dollar.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 210.45 points to 14,087.76 at the start.

US stocks Thursday slipped after weak earnings from Walmart hit retail equities amid concerns that investors are shifting from stocks to bonds.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.01 percent to 16,446.81 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index 0.76 percent to 4,069.29.

The dollar was at 101.48 yen early Friday compared with 101.57 yen in New York Thursday afternoon and 101.83 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

A strong yen is negative for Japanese exporters as it makes them less competitive abroad and erodes repatriated profits.

The euro bought $1.3716 and 139.16 yen against $1.3711 and 139.26 yen in US trade.

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