Tokyo stocks open lower in cautious trading after rise to 33-yr highs

Tokyo stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors were cautious about chasing the upside after the Nikkei and Topix indexes rose to 33-year highs the previous day.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 216.82 points, or 0.64 percent, from Monday to 33,536.51. The broader Topix index was down 9.95 points, or 0.43 percent, at 2,310.86.

Decliners included pharmaceutical, wholesale trade and machinery issues.

At 9 a.m., the U.S. dollar fetched 144.59-62 yen compared with 144.65-75 yen in New York and 144.82-85 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday.

The euro was quoted at...