Tokyo shares open lower on profit-taking

Tokyo stocks opened lower Tuesday as profit-taking set in after four straight sessions of gains, with investors focused on a possible consumption tax hike delay.

Trading volumes were sharply curtailed by Wall Street and London closures on Monday due to bank holidays.

"We may see stock prices fail to move much as the Nikkei 225 has reached 17,000, volumes are thin, and the US is on holiday," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, told Bloomberg News.

"While keeping an eye on US monetary policy, investors will be looking to gauge which way the market will go next."

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.23 percent, or 38.56 points, to 17,029.46 in opening deals, after ending above 17,000 points for the first time in a month the previous day.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 0.25 percent, or 3.38 points, to 1,362.63.

Investors are now focused on a possible delay of the sales tax levy, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expected to announce a decision later this week.

Tokyo was scheduled to raise the sales tax from eight percent to 10 percent in April 2017, to help pay down Japan's massive national debt, but weekend comments by Abe suggested he would push back the hike by two and a half years.

On currency markets, the dollar fell to 110.82 yen from 111.07 yen Monday in Tokyo.

A stronger Japanese currency is a negative for exporters as it deflates the value of their overseas profits.

That, in turn, tends to dent demand for their shares.

In share trading, Toyota lost 0.15 percent to 5,672 yen in early deals and Nissan was 0.22 percent off at 1,102.5 yen.

Energy explorer Inpex surged 2.80 percent to 922.1 yen, while refiner JX Holdings eased 0.39 percent to 432.6 yen.

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