Tokyo shares open lower after Wall Street losses

Tokyo shares opened lower Tuesday, following a weak showing on Wall Street as speculation lingers that the US Federal Reserve will scale back its bond-buying programme, AFP reports. The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened down 0.91 percent or 125.17 points at 13,632.96. The early slide came after US shares extended their losses Monday on the back of mediocre economic data, disappointing retail earnings and higher bond yields due to the expectation that the Federal Reserve will soon taper its bond-buying programme. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 70.73 (0.47 percent) to 15,010.74. The broad-based S&P 500 lost 9.77 (0.59 percent) at 1,646.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 13.69 (0.38 percent) at 3,589.09. Analysts said, however, that the Tokyo bourse would be supported by bargain hunting. "Technical analysis indicates Japanese stocks are nearing a 'buy zone,'" said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities. "The question is whether the volume will return to the market or not," he told Dow Jones Newswires. The Tokyo market see-sawed for much of last week, with many dealers out of action during the traditional holiday. In the forex market, the dollar stood at 97.60 yen, little changed from 97.56 yen in New York Monday. The euro bought $1.3333 and 130.13 yen, also flat from $1.3334 and 130.09.