Tokyo stocks opened lower Friday, weighed down by overnight losses on Wall Street, with sentiment dented by renewed concern over aggressive interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 361.89 points, or 1.33 percent, from Thursday to 26,949.41. The broader Topix index was down 22.83 points, or 1.19 percent, at 1,899.64.
On the top-tier Prime Market, every industry category declined except for land transportation and air transportation. Decliners were led by machinery, insurance and metal product issues.
At 9 a.m., the dollar fetched 145.03-06 yen compared with 145.09-19 yen in New York and 144.57-60 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The euro was quoted at $0.9787-9790 and 141.94-142.01 yen against $0.9788-9798 and 142.08-18 in New York and $0.9910-9912 and 143.28-32 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.
