Tokyo stocks close lower on US falls
Tokyo stocks edged lower on Tuesday as bargain-hunting purchases failed to fully offset losses in early trade following a rout on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.04%, or 8.54 points, at 23,485.80 while the broader Topix index was down 0.09%, or 1.45 points, at 1 617.53 at the close.
"The Japanese market is led by sell orders with investors discouraged by sharp falls in US shares," Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.
"With a record number of new infections on October 23 in the US, worries are growing among investors" prompting position-adjustment selling, he said.
Some investors, however, sought to buy shares that had fallen, supporting the downside, he said in the afternoon.
The dollar fetched ¥104.69 in Asian trade, against ¥104.84 in New York late Monday.
In Tokyo, ANA Holdings dropped 3.17% to ¥2 290 ahead of its second quarter earnings report and details on restructuring plans.
After the closing bell, ANA said it forecasts a record annual loss of ¥510 billion ($4.87 billion) for the current financial year to March.
Its rival JAL plunged 4.27% to ¥1 949.
Nissan Motor was down 1.6% at ¥384.7 despite reports it will boost production in China by 30% next year.
Its rival Honda was down 1.74% at ¥2 540 while Toyota was down 0.41% at ¥6 961.
But Panasonic ended up 0.40% at ¥911.2 and Sony closed up 1.03% at ¥8 100.