Tokyo stocks open flat as trade worries weigh

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened flat on Wednesday with investors jittery over global trade tensions and European political turbulence.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.04% or 8.08 points to 22 531.46 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up a fractional 0.07 points at 1 774.89.

The market is in "a wait-and-see mood due to growing trade tensions and political uncertainty in Europe" while waiting for a historic US-North Korea summit next week, said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities.

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday declared that his eurosceptic government wanted to reduce the country's huge public debt "through growth", not austerity, in his first speech to the country's Senate.

And in Spain, Mariano Rajoy, a major political figure over the past 14 years, announced he will quit as head of the conservative Popular Party after being ousted as prime minister last week.

• READ: Tokyo stocks open higher as yen edges lower

On the other side of the Atlantic, US trade frictions with its neighbours have shown no sign of abating.

Mexico announced duties on Tuesday on a raft of US products ranging from whiskey to apples in retaliation to the "unilateral adoption" by Washington of steel and aluminium tariffs.

In Tokyo, Kobe Steel rebounded 0.90% to ¥1 119 after tumbling more than 1% the previous day on a prosecutors' raid on its headquarters over a quality data fabrication scandal.

Subaru fell 1.22% to ¥3 395 after its president late on Tuesday announced his resignation over a mileage-data cheating scandal.

Nintendo dropped 1.19% to ¥40 370 while Sony rose 1.74% to ¥5 483.

The dollar was trading at ¥109.90 against ¥109.76 in New York on Tuesday afternoon.

* Sign up to Fin24's top news in your inbox:  SUBSCRIBE TO FIN24 NEWSLETTER