TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell 0.68 percent Friday morning, tracking a fall on Wall Street driven by weak US corporate earnings while tumbling commodities prices aggravate worries about the global economy.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange slipped 141.20 points to 20,542.75 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares eased 0.58 percent, or 9.67 points, to 1,655.21.
On Wall Street, stocks dropped for a third straight session Thursday on the back of disappointing earnings from major companies including Caterpillar and American Express.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.67 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.57 percent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.49 percent.
“Cheaper oil and US earnings, which were hit by the stronger dollar, will be negative factors,” Yutaka Miura, a technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, told Bloomberg News.
In Tokyo share trading, energy-related shares dropped after crude oil entered a bear market with JGC Group declining 1.70% to 2,128 yen.
Sony was down 0.27 percent to 3,650.5 yen while Toyota lost 0.21 percent to finish the morning at 8,260 yen.
In Tokyo forex trade, the dollar was at 123.92 yen, slightly up from 123.90 yen in New York late Thursday.
