Tokyo stocks opened slightly lower in early trading Thursday as investor sentiment was dented by the yen's gains against the U.S. dollar and overnight losses on Wall Street.

At 9:15 a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was down 43.90 points, or 0.22 percent, from Wednesday to 20,178.73. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 6.91 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,641.57.

Decliners were led by mining, oil and coal products and iron and steel issues.