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Tokyo stocks open lower on US-China trade worries

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday after drops on Wall Street as Washington threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.36% or 82.42 points to 22 664.28 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.11% or 1.99 points at 1 767.77.

"Investors are worried as they don't know whether the (US-China) trade war is escalating or the countries are actually looking for a compromise plan," said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities.

"While concerns about the global economy linger, however, there are some buybacks for companies whose earnings are good but are priced low," providing support for the market, he added in a commentary.

Washington said Wednesday it may jack up the tariff rate on the next $200bn in Chinese imports it plans to target as it pressures Beijing to reform its trade practices.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said President Donald Trump asked him to consider increasing the proposed tariffs to 25% from the planned 10%.

In Tokyo trade, selling hit companies with close business ties with China.

Machinery maker Komatsu fell 2.52% to ¥3 277 and factory robot-maker Fanuc was down 1.34% at ¥22 075.

Sony climbed 2.01 percent to ¥6 228.

The dollar was trading at ¥111.64 against ¥111.62 in New York on Wednesday afternoon.

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