Tokyo stocks open down 0.14 percent
TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened down 0.14 percent on Monday after a mixed performance on Wall Street last week.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which ended last week at an 11-week high on easing worries over the European debt crisis, opened down 12.45 points or 0.14 percent at 8,753.91.
“Following gains over four straight sessions, the market is entering into a short-term overheated stage,” SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi told Dow Jones Newswires.
US blue chips jumped Friday on a batch of strong fourth-quarter earnings, especially from Microsoft and IBM, but disappointing revenues from Google held the tech-heavy Nasdaq index back.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip stocks closed up 0.76 percent to 12,720.48 while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.06 percent to 2,786.70.
The euro bought $1.2892 and 99.27 yen in early Asian trade, slightly down from $1.2933 and 99.61 yen in New York late Friday. The dollar was flat, trading at 76.97 yen.
