Tokyo stocks open lower

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday, dragged down by a firmer yen after Wall Street eased from record highs.

Japan's benchmark index had advanced to an 11-month high last week as the yen tumbled against the dollar on expectations that US interest rates will rise under President-elect Donald Trump's administration.

"Japanese stocks have been having a good run on the Trump rally, but there's a sense of needing to calm down a little," said Mitsuo Shimizu, a deputy general manager at Japan Asia Securities Group.

"The market has been rising entirely on expectations, but US stocks are lower, the weakening yen has taken a breather and it's difficult for Japanese stocks to keep rising on their own," he told Bloomberg News.

A stronger yen can erode the profitability of Japanese exporters and often pushes the stock market lower.

The dollar slipped to ¥111.83 on Tuesday from ¥111.94 in New York on Monday afternoon.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 74.28 points, to 18 282.61 in the first few minutes of trading, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down  4.84 points, at 1 464.74.

Nintendo fell 0.58% to ¥27 805, Toyota eased 0.19% to ¥6 640, and factory automation systems maker Fanuc lost 0.20% to ¥19 260.

Wall Street stocks retreated on Monday, ending a four-day streak of record closes for the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, as nervousness over the holiday shopping season hit shares of leading retailers.

Investors in Tokyo largely shrugged off a batch of Japanese economic data released early on Tuesday, which showed household spending fell again in October despite the jobless rate staying at its lowest level in more than 20 years.