Tokyo stocks open lower

Tokyo: Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower in the early trading on Thursday after a five-day weekend following the US stocks losses.

At 9.15 a.m. (local time), the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was down 254. 96 points, or 1.41 percent, from last Wednesday to 17,815.25, a roughly two-week intraday low, Xinhua reported.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 16.67 points, or 1.14 percent, to 1,445.71.

Decliners were led by nonferrous metals, iron and steel and machinery issues

IANS