Tokyo opens softer as techs slip

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks opened softer on Thursday, with major technology shares following falls in their U.S. counterparts.

Audio CNN's Andrew Stevens with the Asian stock market open. 1.13MB/1 min 47sec AIFF or WAV sound

Japan's largest chip producer, Toshiba Corp, slid 1.74 percent to 790 yen, reflecting weakness in semiconductor-related shares.

Specialty chip maker Rohm Co skidded 3.87 percent to 22,110 yen.

"Cisco's poor results and outlook were largely factored in yesterday, but softer U.S. techs-especially the chips- should trigger another round of profit-taking in high-priced technology shares early on," said Yutaka Miura, deputy manager of equity information at Shinko Securities.

The benchmark Nikkei average was down 0.02 percent or 3.39 points at 14,081.46, while the capital-weighted TOPIX index shed 0.82 percent or 11.41 points to 1,380.92.

NTT DoCoMo Inc, down 3.03 percent at 2.56 million yen, was weighing on the broader market. The dominant mobile phone titan and largest issue by market capitalization fell despite stronger than expected earnings announced after the market close on Wednesday.

The U.S. Nasdaq composite index fell 1.92 percent or 42.14 points to 2,156.63 after networking powerhouse Cisco Systems Inc's whopping $2.7 billion net loss and downbeat outlook dimmed hopes for a rebound in the tech sector.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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