Daily Times

Tokyo stocks opened lower Monday as investors looked to major events slated over the week and with trading cut to three business days due to holidays as the Olympics starts.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.34 percent, or 376.08 points, to 27,627.00, while the broader Topix index lost 0.95 percent, or 18.28 points, to 1,915.99. The fall came after Wall Street shares ended lower last week, on rekindled worries about rising coronavirus cases.

“Tokyo shares are seen coming under pressure after falls on Wall Street,” Okasan Online Securities said in a note. Thin trade was expected in Tokyo ahead of a four-day weekend in Japan from Thursday. The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to open from Friday until Sunday August 8. Investors are closely watching a new wave of Covid-19 infections in Tokyo and across the world, as tens of thousands of athletes, officials and journalists gather in the Japanese capital for the Games, which will be held mostly behind closed doors.

Meanwhile many Tokyo investors were expected to sit on their hands for the time being as they wait for more economic news and corporate earnings announcements slated for next week. “The Tokyo market will likely remain broadly within the current range this week,” Okasan said. “Next week, we will see earnings reports from major businesses as well as the next Fed meeting,” the brokerage said.

US shares are likely to stay broadly solid on strong corporate earnings, Okasan added. The dollar was at 109.90 yen, from 110.04 yen seen Friday in New York. Among major shares, tech investor SoftBank Group fell 1.76 percent to 7,349 yen. Nintendo was off 1.55 percent to 61,530 yen. Toyota fell 1.10 percent to 9,757 yen. Sony Group fell 0.85 percent to 11,060 yen. Uniqlo-operator Fast Retailing fell 1.17 percent to 76,610 yen.