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Tokyo shares down 1.57% in early trade
Tokyo shares fell 1
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okyo shares fell 1.57 percent in early trade Tuesday, as investors cautiously awaited fresh Chinese data to gauge the health of Asia's top economy.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange slipped 296.71 points to 18,593.77 shortly after the opening bell.
The Topix index of all first section shares fell 1.50 percent, or 23.13 points, to 1,513.92.
Players' confidence has waned that China will be able to prop up its markets amid slowing economic growth, analysts said.
"China releases the official Purchasing Managers' Index today and markets may move with it," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, told Bloomberg News.
"We know the Chinese economy is weakening, but we want to see how the deceleration impacts its major trading partners."
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 114.98 points, or 0.69 percent, at 16,528.03.
The broader S&P 500 lost 16.69 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,972.18, and the Nasdaq Composite gave up 51.82 points, or 1.07 percent, at 4,776.51.
Worries over the potential broader impact of China's slowdown resurfaced as analysts voiced concern that the markets were still not free of the turbulence that sparked huge sell-offs and sharp recoveries across the world last week.
Global trade also grew more volatile on uncertainty over US interest rates.
Federal Reserve vice chair Stanley Fischer has said a hike in borrowing rates was still possible in September.
The US August jobs report, due Friday, should provide a clue as the last major data point before the Fed's meeting on September 16-17.
The historically low US interest rates of recent years have fuelled investment in global stock markets because they have made it cheap to borrow money for speculation.
In the forex market, the dollar was at 120.99 yen, down from 121.24 yen.
The euro was $1.1243 and 136.01 yen, mixed from $1.1213 and 135.95 yen.(++++)
