Tokyo, Nov 21 (AFP/APP): Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday, extending losses on Wall Street on revived concerns about a China-US trade deal after US lawmakers approved legislation to support Hong Kong civil rights.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.24 percent or 55.70 points at 23,092.87 in early trade, while the broader Topix dipped 0.20 percent or 3.38 points to 1,687.73.
US lawmakers Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation that supports human rights and democracy in Hong Kong and also backs the territory’s anti-China protesters, sending the measure opposed by Beijing to President Donald Trump.
The bill requires the US president to annually review the favourable trade status that Washington grants to Hong Kong, and threatens to revoke the coveted status the semi-autonomous Chinese territory enjoys with the United States if its freedoms are quashed.
Tokyo stocks open lower with eyes on US-China trade talks
The measure now heads to Trump, who has not decisively said whether he will sign it.
“In addition to falls in US stocks, reports that US President Trump is expected to sign legislation passed by the Congress are seen damping the Japanese market,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a note.
The dollar fetched 108.46 yen in early Asian trade, down from 108.62 yen as traders fled to the safe-haven Japanese currency on renewed concerns over the trade deal.
In Tokyo, some electronics and chip-linked shares were lower, with Olympus declining 1.11 percent to 1,683.5 yen, chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron trading down 2.66 percent at 21,910 yen, and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest off 4.06 percent at 5,190 yen.
Game giant Nintendo was down 1.07 percent at 42,510 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.4 percent at 27,821.09.
