Japanese shares open lower




Japanese shares opened slightly lower Thursday as investors took profits ahead of a long weekend, analysts said.

The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.33 per cent or 35.15 points to 10,582.68 shortly after the opening bell.

The headline index should receive support from a weaker yen, especially against the euro, with the European unit trading at 113.10 yen in early trade compared with 112.43 yen late Wednesday in Tokyo.

The dollar was at 82.43 yen, also slightly firming from 82.35 in New York Wednesday. Against the dollar, the euro eased slightly to $1.3718 from $1.3727 in New York late Wednesday.

But major shares may come under pressure as investors lock in profits before a three-day weekend from Friday to observe the national foundation day, Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities , told Dow Jones Newswires.

Hirano expected the Nikkei to move in the range of 10,575-10,675, against Wednesday's close of 10,617.83.

He also pointed to possible fluctuations related to the settlement for monthly options contracts as well as the start of the new "J-GATE" next generation derivatives trading system on the Osaka Securities Exchange Monday.

Before the market opened, the government said Japan's core private-sector machinery orders edged up 1.7 per cent in December from the previous month, the first rise in four months but far short of the expected 5.3-per cent rise.

Overnight, US stocks closed mixed in listless trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 6.74 points or 0.06 per cent to 12,239.89.

The broader S&P 500 index fell 3.69 points or 0.28 per cent to 1,320.88, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index dropped 7.98 points or 0.29 per cent to 2,789.07.