- Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday, tracking falls on Wall Street as oil prices tumbled.
- Oil prices slumped Tuesday on lower demand prospects as Germany said it would reimpose strict virus containment measures.
- Wall Street indices closed in the red with trader enthusiasm for a recovering economy overtaken by fears of a resurgence.
Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday, tracking falls on Wall Street as oil prices tumbled, with investors also disheartened by rising coronavirus cases in Europe.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.47% or 135.62 points at 28 860.30 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.51% or 9.97 points to 1 961.51.
"Japanese shares are seen declining... as investors react negatively to falls in US stocks," said senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities.
Wall Street indices closed in the red with trader enthusiasm for a recovering economy overtaken by fears of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections.
Oil prices slumped Tuesday on lower demand prospects as Europe's biggest economy Germany said it would reimpose strict virus containment measures as it struggles, along with other EU nations, to roll out vaccines.
The dollar fetched 108.58 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.62 yen in New York late Tuesday.
Among major shares in Tokyo, Toyota was down 0.86% at 8 233 yen, Sony was off 0.74% at 11 445 yen, and Hitachi was down 0.42% at 5 275 yen.
But gaming giant Nintendo was up 0.42% at 64 250 yen and Honda was up 0.30% at 3 309 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.2% at 32 674.77.