Tokyo stocks fall in early trade

Tokyo stocks opened weaker Monday

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks fell in early trade on Monday with major technology stocks losing ground.

This came after their U.S. counterparts softened, and caution ahead of a wave of earnings announcements from major tech firms.

The benchmark Nikkei average was down 174.5 points or 1.3 percent at 13,869.35 after an hour's trade.

Losses in the tech sector were led by Sony Corp, which fell 1.72 percent to 9,710 yen.

Sony came under pressure after dominant mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc said on Friday it suspended sales of the electronic giant's latest handset model featuring an advanced version of its popular i-mode Internet access service due to a software glitch.

DoCoMo offers to replace Sony phone unit

NTT DoCoMo said about 420,000 units of the Sony phone model SO503i have been sold since its launch on March 9 this year, and would be replaced if customers wished.

DoCoMo, Japan's largest issue by market capitalization, dipped 0.4 percent to 2.49 million yen yen, weighing on the capital-weighted TOPIX index, which fell 7.26 points or 0.53 percent to 1,369.50.

Market players said Tokyo stocks are unlikely to slide much further since investors are reluctant to build up big positions either way ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting on Tuesday.

"We have the Fed's decision coming up soon and MSCI's (Morgan Stanley Capital International) reshuffle later in the week. All this and ongoing earnings announcements would be holding investors at bay," said Hiroichi Nishi, a general manager at Nikko Securities.

Among major tech stocks set to unveil earnings figures this week, major electronic components maker Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd fell 1.41 percent to 11,190 yen and Kyocera Corp, the world's largest maker of integrated circuit ceramic packages, lost 1.76 percent to 11,730 yen.

Bucking the trend was Isuzu Motors Ltd, which gained 2.99 percent to 241 yen after Kyodo news agency said Japan's largest maker of light trucks plans to slash 3,000 jobs or 10 percent of its workforce as part of a restructuring aimed at returning to profitability.

Australian stocks easier

In Sydney, Australian stocks eased in early trade Monday, taking their lead from a weaker Wall Street where investors now have doubts about whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates again, this week.

The S&P/ASX 200 dipped 9.3 points or 0.3 percent to 3,379.7 in early trade. Most sectors were weaker, although the top banks managed to attract some buyers.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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