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| - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday in cautious trade as investors awaited China's GDP data, due later in the day, for clues on the economic impact from the coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.25 percent or 57.04 points at 22,888.46 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged down 0.08 percent or 1.27 points to 1,588.24. "Japanese shares are seen dominated by sell orders after rallies in the previous session, with investors keenly awaiting China's GDP data for the April-June quarter", Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary. "Consensus for China's Q2 GDP sits at 9.6% quarter-on-quarter, a sharp v-shaped rebound from the first quarter's -9.8%," Rodrigo Catril, National Australia Bank strategist, said in a note. The dollar fetched 106.85 yen in early Asian trade, against 106.87 yen in New York late Wednesday. Among major shares in Tokyo, Toyota was down 0.86 percent at 6,776 yen, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was down 2.80 percent at 6,600 yen, and parts-maker Murata Manufacturing was down 2.93 percent at 6,424 yen. But Sony was up 1.29 percent at 8,231 yen and Panasonic was up 0.54 percent at 1,018.5 yen. On Wall Street, US shares advanced again following progress on a leading coronavirus vaccine candidate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 26,869.83, up 0.9 percent. kh/sah/jah
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