Tokyo stocks open lower on virus worries
AFP
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File photo: CGTN

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday amid lingering worries over the economic ramifications of the new coronavirus.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.51 percent or 122.01 points to 23,705.72 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.54 percent or 9.23 points at 1,703.85.

"Japanese shares are weighed down by falls in foreign markets, with investors flustered over reports on the new coronavirus as the number of patients in China's Hubei surged (on Thursday), triggering a sense of distrust in the official data," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

"However this rise in the tally is due chiefly to a change in the way of counting so it doesn't suggest an expansion of the infectious disease," it added.

The dollar fetched 109.78 yen in early trade in Asian trade against 109.81 yen in New York.

In Tokyo, Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, was down 1.73 percent at 59,510 yen, Sony was down 0.77 percent at 7,611 yen and Nintendo was down 0.42 percent at 40,040 yen.

Nissan dived 6.65 percent to 530.7 yen after the carmaker revised downwards its full-year sales and profit forecasts, warning that the impact from the spreading coronavirus crisis was not yet included in their figures.