Japanese stocks open lower
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Carmakers are weaker on Friday after a good run earlier in the week.
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TOKYO, Japan -- Japanese stocks are lower in early trade Friday, after a selloff on Wall Street that followed a disappointing manufacturing report.
Japanese exporters such as carmakers and consumer electronics companies are weaker, reflecting some pessimism on the U.S. economic outlook.
The Nikkei 225 average is down 0.53 percent at 9062.42.
That follows its 0.19 percent gain on Thursday to 9110.51, its third straight winning session and the highest close since December 3.
The broader Topix index is down 0.17 percent to 894.14.
Other markets in the region are also lower, with falls of about half a percent for Australia and 0.4 percent for South Korea. New Zealand's Top 50 index is flat.
The moves in Asia follow a decline of 1.23 percent for the Dow Jones industrial average on Thursday, and 1.7 percent for the Nasdaq. (Full story)
In Tokyo, the dollar is trading at 118.48 yen. Consumer electronics leader Sony Corp is down 1.4 percent to 3490 yen, Matsushita Electric Industrial is 1.15 percent lower to 1114 yen and Kyocera is off 1.5 percent to 7130 yen.
Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, is down 2.14 percent at 1095 yen, Honda is down 1.3 percent and Toyota is about 1 percent lower.
NTT DoCoMo, the market's biggest stock, is slightly higher, up 0.7 percent to 273,000 yen. Big banks are weaker.
