Tokyo shares close lower after US falls

TOKYO: Tracking another Wall Street rout on fears over rising US interest rates, Tokyo shares closed lower on Tuesday, while investors eyed China's slowing economy.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.58%, or 152.24 points, to end at 26,167.10, while the broader Topix index fell 0.85%, or 16.01 points, to 1,862.38.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq tumbled more than 4% as US equities endured another battering over inflation worries, rising interest rates and a slowing economy.

"The Nikkei index opened lower after the three major US indices all hit new lows for the year," Okasan Online Securities said.

"A wide variety of shares, mainly growth stocks, were sold... but losses were trimmed due to bargain hunting."

Mizuho Securities said investors were cautious against accelerating monetary tightening in the US and an economic slowdown in China.

The dollar fetched 130.39 yen against 130.26 yen in New York late Monday.

In Tokyo trading, automakers were lower with Toyota dropping 2.96% to 2,178.5 yen, Honda falling 1.32% to 3,349 yen and Nissan losing 2.36% to 507.1 yen.

Sony Group tumbled 3.13% to 10,500 yen. After the closing bell, the company reported record sales of 9.9 trillion yen ($76 billion) for the financial year to March, while net profit dipped to 882 billion yen from the previous year's record high.

Nintendo, which will release financial results later in the day, added 0.24% to 56,360 yen.

Other gaming shares fell, with Bandai Namco dropping 3.45% to 8,239 yen and Konami slipping 0.52% to 7,570 yen.