TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell in early trade on Friday, breaking a three-session winning streak as investors weighed the impact of a powerful earthquake that killed nine people and injured hundreds in southern Japan.
The 6.5-magnitude quake, which struck on Thursday evening on the southwestern island of Kyushu, forced several major manufacturers — including Sony and Honda Motor — to suspend operations at their factories in the area.
“It’s possible that there may be effects on individual companies through the supply chains,” Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura Holdings, told Bloomberg News.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.21 percent, or 34.71 points, to 16,876.34 about 45 minutes after the opening bell.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares eased 0.45 percent, or 6.20 points, to 1,365.15.
Several manufacturers slipped in early trade after operations at production facilities were impacted by the quake.
Sony lost 1.59 percent to 2,983.5 yen in early trading after the company halted operations at a semiconductor manufacturing factory in hard-hit Kumamoto prefecture, a spokesman told AFP.
