Tokyo stocks open down 1.42%

A man looks at the share price of Japan Airlines on an electronic stock board after a ceremony to mark its relisting at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo. AP FILE PHOTO

TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened 1.42 percent lower on Monday, following a sharp fall on Wall Street last week.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 128.16 points at 8,874.52 at the start of trade.

US markets sank Friday with the Nasdaq pulled down two percent by a tech stock rout led by Apple and Microsoft as a series of disappointing earnings and trimmed forecasts spooked investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.52 percent at 13,343.51 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 2.19 percent at 3,005.62.

Shortly before the Tokyo opening, official data showed Japan logged a $7.0 billion trade deficit in September amid a global slowdown and the fallout from a bitter territorial spat with China.

In early Tokyo trade, the dollar was changing hands at 79.25 yen, slightly down from 79.30 yen in New York late Friday.

The euro fetched $1.3026 and 103.25 yen, against $1.3027 and 103.58 yen.

But some dealers warned that a weakening trend for the yen could come to an end at any time, which could weigh on the market.

“A break in the current yen weakening trend is likely to hurt the market, but the stocks are also simply due for profit-taking after last week’s strong rally,” Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.