Tokyo stocks opened lower Thursday, as investor sentiment was dampened by heavy selling on Wall Street overnight that put an end to a nine-day winning streak on the Dow Jones index.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 434.55 points, or 1.29 percent, from Wednesday to 33,241.39. The broader Topix index was down 24.56 points, or 1.05 percent, at 2,324.82.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by transportation equipment, precision instrument and wholesale trade issues.
At 9 a.m., the U.S. dollar fetched 143.52-53 yen compared with 143.53-63 yen in New York and 143.54-56 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0941-0945 and 157.03-09 yen against $1.0938-0948 and 157.04-14 yen in New York and $1.0966-0968 and 157.41-45 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday afternoon.
