Tokyo stocks opened lower Monday as a key U.S. employment data report released at the end of last week coming in way below par sent the yen higher against the U.S. dollar and soured the market mood.

As of 9:15 a.m, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 238.36 points, or 1.43 percent, from Friday to 16,403.87.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 19.00 points, or 1.42 percent, to 1,318.23.

All industry categories on the main section retreated into negative territory, with securities, insurance and other financial stock-linked shares comprising the morning's early notable decliners.

source : xinhua