TOKYO, Oct 21, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday as
rising US bond yields worried investors, although overnight gains on Wall
Street provided some support.

   The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.50 percent, or 145.03 points, to
29,110.52, while the broader Topix index lost 0.27 percent, or 5.42 points,
to 2,022.25.

   The dollar stood at 114.32 yen, nearly flat from 114.33 yen seen Wednesday
in New York.

   "Exporter shares are likely to come under pressure on concerns over rising
US long-term bond yields," Okasan Online Securities said.

   The trend weighed on tech shares in the United States, with the Nasdaq
down 0.1 percent at the close, which "led to the selling of major shares in
Tokyo", Okasan added.

   However, the brokerage pointed to the relative stability of the Topix
after the rest of Wall Street ended broadly higher, with the Dow and S&P 500
in the black.

   Economically sensitive stocks, such as steel, chemical and paper, may
attract investors, Okasan said.

   "On the back of the gains in US shares, a wide range of Tokyo shares are
expected to find buyers," it said.

   The market also was monitoring news related to troubled Chinese developer
Evergrande, which is expected to resume trading in Hong Kong from Thursday.

   Evergrande said its efforts to sell a stake in its property services unit
had failed.

   The company said it would continue to implement measures to ease its
liquidity issues, cautioning that "there is no guarantee that the group will
be able to meet its financial obligations".

   Among major Tokyo shares, tech investor SoftBank Group dropped 1.13
percent to 6,636 yen. Advantest, a maker of testing tools for semiconductors,
fell 1.84 percent to 9,080 yen.

   Major paper producer Oji Holdings added 0.36 percent to 564 yen. Its
smaller rival Nippon Paper Industries firmed 0.34 percent to 1,181 yen.

   Nippon Steel gave up gains and fell 0.38 percent to 1,979 yen.

   Fast Retailing, which operates the Uniqlo fashion chain, shed earlier
losses and added 0.11 percent to 75,580 yen.