Tokyo stocks open flat as trade war fears weigh

Tokyo stocks opened flat on Monday with investors sitting on the sidelines as US-China trade war fears ramped up and the yen appreciated.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index inched up 0.03 per cent, or 6.88 points, to 22,532.06 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.02 per cent, or 0.35 points, at 1,742.93.

"Rallies on US and European markets on Friday could lead to buying in early trade but there is no trading peg strong enough to boost the overall market," SBI Securities said in a commentary.

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Okasan Online Securities said "higher US stock prices helped buoy sentiment but the yen's slight appreciation could keep investors from active trade."

"Caution about further escalation in US-China trade frictions is also still strong," Okasan's chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito added in a commentary.

New York stocks rose on Friday after a positive US jobs report.

But Beijing has threatened to bring in levies on $60 billion of American goods after US President Donald Trump's administration upped the ante in its plans for additional tariffs on Chinese goods worth $200 billion.

The dollar edged down against the yen, changing hands at 111.22 yen against 111.25 yen in New York Friday and 111.71 yen in Tokyo before the weekend.

A stronger yen often drags down the Tokyo stock market as it clouds Japanese exporter outlooks by making their products less competitive abroad and also reducing profits when repatriated.

Toyota edged up 0.15 per cent to 7,231 yen after losing 0.85 per cent on Friday on investor disappointment with the car giant's decision to leave unchanged its full-year guidance, despite robust first-quarter results.

Panasonic fell 0.91 per cent to 1,456 yen and Sony lost 0.49 per cent to 6,081 yen.