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| - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday after rebounding to positive territory in the previous session from recent sell-offs as investors remained focused on news about the new coronavirus. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.86 percent or 171.05 points to 19,696.07 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.47 percent or 6.60 points at 1,400.08. Wall Street stocks finished a roller-coaster session sharply higher Tuesday as oil prices bounced while the Trump administration continued to promise relief measures to offset the economic hit from coronavirus. However, Trump's fiscal response "has been factored into the Tokyo market already, and sell orders are seen dominating the market," Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary. Trade remains nervous as investors are closely watching the dollar-yen rate, he added. The dollar fetched 105.18 yen in early Asian trade, against 105.55 yen in New York and 104.77 yen in Tokyo on Tuesday. "COVID-19 headlines continue to be on the negative side," said Tapas Strickland, senior analyst at National Australia Bank, referring to the spread of the coronavirus in Italy and in the United States. In Tokyo, exporters were mixed with Sony losing 0.40 percent to 6,393 yen and Olympus slipping 1.07 percent to 1,891 yen, while game giant Nintendo traded up 0.41 percent at 36,340 yen. Automakers were higher, with Honda advancing 2.30 percent to 2,601 yen after a report said it would resume production of four-wheel vehicles in its plant in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the new coronavirus, from Wednesday. Its bigger rival Toyota was up 2.73 percent at 6,784 yen and Nissan was up 3.42 percent at 413.6 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 4.9 percent at 25,018.16. kh/ric/jah
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