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| - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday, tracking falls on Wall Street following a trove of weak economic data and earnings reports that pointed to a severe US economic slowdown. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 1.46 percent or 286.13 points at 19,263.96 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 1.38 percent or 19.83 points to 1,414.24. "Japanese shares are seen as top-heavy with investors discouraged by falls in US shares," Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary. Wall Street stocks dropped as economic reports showed US retail sales plunged in March, while industrial production in the same month suffered its steepest drop since 1946. The dollar fetched 107.69 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.48 yen in New York. In Tokyo, blue-chip exporters were lower across the board, with Sony slipping 0.89 percent to 6,707 yen, chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron falling 1.57 percent to 22,005 yen, and industrial robot maker Fanuc trading down 2.44 percent at 14,400 yen. Pharmaceuticals were also lower, with Chugai Pharmaceutical trading down 1.44 percent at 14,075 yen and Takeda pharmaceutical off 1.37 percent at 3,597 yen. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9 percent to 23,504.35. kh/sah/hg
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