schema:articleBody
| - Tokyo stocks opened lower Friday, pushed down by a stronger yen and worries over the distribution of coronavirus vaccines. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.31 percent or 82.69 points at 26,726.68 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.15 percent or 2.63 points to 1,772.62. "The Japanese market is seen dominated by sell orders on worries over distribution of vaccines for the new coronavirus with investors seeking to lock in profits," Mizuho Securities said. A firmer yen is also weighing on the market, it added. The dollar fetched 103.73 yen in early Asian trade, against 103.84 yen in New York and 104.47 yen late in Tokyo on Thursday. The world passed 1.5 million global coronavirus deaths on Thursday, even as several nations readied plans to deliver vaccines early next year to break the cycle of lockdowns and restrictions. Looking ahead, investors are closely watching the November US jobs data due later in the day, analysts said. In Tokyo, chip-linked shares were among losers, with chip-testing equipment manufacturer Advantest trading down 1.98 percent at 7,410 yen and chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron off 3.12 percent at 36,380 yen. Online mall giant and mobile carrier Rakuten was down 4.55 percent at 1,071 yen after its bigger rival NTT Docomo said it will launch a new low-price phone service. But some other major shares were higher, with the broader Topix index rebounding to positive territory about half an hour after the opening bell. Game giant Nintendo was up 1.23 percent at 56,940 yen, Honda Motor was up 1.46 percent at 3,130 yen and Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 1.35 percent at 3,892 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.3 percent at 29,969.52. kh/kaf/hg
|