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STOCKS-MARKET-JAPAN-OPEN
Tokyo stocks open lower following US losses
TOKYO, April 1, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo shares opened lower on Wednesday,
extending losses on Wall Street amid a broader market rout over the
coronavirus outbreak.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.87 percent, or 353.05 points, to
18,563.96 in early trade, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.78 percent,
or 24.92 points, to 1,378.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped almost two percent to
finish at 21,917.16.
The blue-chip index lost more than 23 percent for the quarter, its worst
since 1987, as the US shut major parts of its economy in response to the
coronavirus outbreak.
“With losses in US shares and concerns over the new coronavirus, investors
are likely to refrain from buying,” Okasan Online Securities chief strategist
Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.
The dollar traded at 107.36 yen in early Asian trade against 107.63 yen in
New York on Tuesday afternoon.
In Tokyo trading, Fujifilm continued to rise after the company announced on
Tuesday it began a clinical study on its anti-flu drug Avigan for treating
the new coronavirus.
The firm jumped 2.18 percent to 5,558 yen.
Automakers were lower with Honda falling 1.87 percent to 2,384.5 yen and
Toyota 0.58 percent to 6,463 yen.
Subaru dropped 1.88 percent to 2,034.5 yen after it announced it would halt
its plants in Japan and the US for about 20 days.
Before markets opened, a key survey showed confidence among Japan’s biggest
manufacturers had plunged into negative territory for the first time in seven
years, as the coronavirus pandemic hits demand and disrupts production.
The Bank of Japan’s March Tankan business survey — a quarterly poll of
about 10,000 companies — showed a reading of minus 8 among major
manufacturers, the first negative reading since March 2013.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1005 hrs