Tokyo stocks open lower on Wall St. losses amid rate hike fears

Tokyo stocks opened lower Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, as strong economic data stirred concern that U.S. interest rate hikes are nowhere near ending.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 144.47 points, or 0.52 percent, from Thursday to 27,551.97. The broader Topix index was down 7.83 points, or 0.39 percent, at 1,993.26.

Decliners were led by mining, precision instrument and metal product issues.

At 9 a.m., the U.S. dollar fetched 134.07-08 yen compared with 133.90-134.00 yen in New York and 133.77-79 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday. ...