Tokyo stocks open lower on firm yen amid uncertainty

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday, with a higher yen and falls on Wall Street weighing on the market along with worries including Brexit uncertainty and falling oil prices.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.85% or 186.41 points at 21 660.07 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.64% or 10.44 points at 1 630.82.

The dollar was quoted at ¥113.53 in early Asian trade, down from ¥113.64 in New York and ¥113.91 in Tokyo on Wednesday.

"The Japanese market is subdued with unimpressive US shares having negative impact," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

A higher yen against the dollar is also discouraging investors from actively buying, it added.

Currency traders are watching "falls in oil prices, Brexit, the Italian fiscal issue, falls in US share prices, and US trade policy," Mizuho Securities said in a commentary.

In Tokyo, automakers were among losers, with Toyota trading down 0.62% at ¥6 625, Honda down 1.02% at ¥3 190 and Nissan off 1.27% at ¥1 009.5.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial was down 2.77% at ¥4 307 after its July-September quarter net income rose 37% on-year to ¥245.6bn ($2.16bn) and it announced it was setting up an equity sales and trading team in the US.

On Wall Street, the Dow closed down 0.8% at 25 080.50.