Tokyo stocks close lower tracking US falls

Tokyo stocks closed lower on Monday after Wall Street shares plunged on anxiety over higher interest rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended down 1.90 percent, or 514.48 points, at 26,590.78, while the broader Topix index slipped 1.50 percent, or 28.63 points, to 1,876.52, according to AFP.

“Japanese shares started with losses following falls in the three US major indices … with some buying back in chip-linked shares emerging in later trade,” Okasan Online Securities said.

The dollar fetched 128.57 yen in Asian trade, against 128.51 yen in New York on Friday.

Global stock markets dropped sharply ahead of the weekend as the latest hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve sent investors fleeing equities.

Frankfurt ended down 2.5 percent on Friday and Paris fell two percent, while London lost 1.4 percent. Wall Street followed the trend with the Dow finishing down 2.8 percent.

In Tokyo, ANA Holdings dropped 3.43 percent to 2,409.5 yen after the airline cut its full-year net sales guidance.

Nissan dived 5.05 percent to 509.8 yen after a Bloomberg report said Renault was considering selling some of its Nissan shares.

Last week, French investigators issued international arrest warrants for disgraced former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn and four others who allegedly helped him syphon millions of euros from Renault.

SoftBank Group plunged 7.80 percent to 4,989 yen as Chinese tech giants including Alibaba continue to slide. SoftBank Group is a major shareholder of Alibaba.