TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday as investor jitters over the US election boosted the yen, sparking a sell off of exporter shares.
The latest US election polls show Democrat Hillary Clinton clinging to a narrow lead over Republican Donald Trump, who is seen by markets as an unpredictable wildcard.
“This uncertainty will keep investors from making a move as they watch and see what happens,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura Holdings.
“It could be Trump and even if it’s Clinton, we don’t know if policies will be managed smoothly amid the FBI investigation,” he told Bloomberg News.
The dollar was trading at 103.13 yen early Friday, up from 102.93 yen in New York Thursday afternoon but still well below 103.79 yen before Tokyo closed for Thursday’s holiday.
A strong yen erodes Japanese exporters’ profitability and usually trigger selling on the Tokyo equities market.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.00 percent, or 172.05 points, from Wednesday to 16,962.63 in the first few minutes of trading, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 1.12 percent, or 15.26 points, at 1,353.18.
Trading in Takata shares was suspended after the Nikkei business daily reported that the airbag maker was preparing for a possible bankruptcy protection filing for its US unit as recalls costs are rising.
Heavy selling hit automakers with the strong yen and Takata woes dampening investor sentiment.
Honda tumbled 3.31 percent to 2,875 yen while Toyota plunged 3.01 percent to 5,759 yen.
