TOKYO: Tokyo shares opened 1.50 percent lower on Friday, following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged near zero on concerns about the global economy.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 276.19 points to 18,156.08 in opening deals.
The US Fed left rates unchanged Thursday after weeks of market-churning speculation, with governor Janet Yellen citing concerns about the world economy and particularly China as reasons to maintain the status quo.
“A lot of our focus has been on risks around China, but not just China, emerging markets more generally and how they may spill over to the United States,” Yellen said at a news conference following the rate announcement.
“We’ve seen significant outflows of capital from those countries, pressures on their exchange rates and concerns about their performance going forward,” Yellen said.
While many had expected the Fed to back off on what would be the first rate increase in nine years, the dovish tone of comments by Yellen took some by surprise and sent the dollar tumbling against the euro.
The greenback was trading down slightly in Tokyo at 119.67 yen, from 120.01 yen Thursday in New York.
