TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell 1.36 percent Tuesday following another sell-off on Wall Street, while exporters took a hit as the stronger yen picked up against the dollar.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 201.97 points to 14,606.88, while the Topix index of all first-section shares lost 1.86 percent, or 22.28 points, to 1,174.56.
Traders took their lead from New York, where the three main indexes each tumbled more than one percent, as big-name tech firms, which had helped last year's rally, were sold off on concerns they are overvalued.
Attention was on a news conference to be held by Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda after the market closed to see if he provides any clues about future policy.
The BoJ decided to stand pat on its monetary easing programme, as expected, as it waits to assess the impact of a sales tax hike that came into effect on April 1.
"The nuance within Kuroda's explanation will be key," SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi said.
In forex trade, the dollar bought 102.87 yen against 103.09 yen in New York Monday afternoon, while the euro bought 141.23 yen, compared with 141.65 yen.
The yen was also supported by government data showing Japan posted the first current account surplus in five months in February, owing mainly to a narrower trade deficit.
A strong yen is negative for Japanese exporters as it makes them less competitive overseas and erodes repatriated profits.
On Wall Street the Dow sank 1.02 percent, the S&P 500 slipped 1.08 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 1.16 percent.
"Overseas investors are dumping Internet-related stocks, largely in reaction to selloffs in their overseas peers overnight," an equity trading director at a foreign brokerage said.
In Tokyo trade Yahoo Japan was off 3.29 percent at 469 yen, SoftBank dropped 4.48 percent to 7,217 yen and major online retailer Rakuten fell 2.07 percent to 1,321 yen.
Drug giant Takeda Pharmaceutical tumbled 5.16 percent to 4,572 yen after saying it would fight a $6.0 billion damages order following a US trial over the safety of its Actos diabetes medicine. (AFP)
