Japanese Markets Open Slightly Lower

Japanese stocks were trading slightly lower on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 declined 0.13 percent, or 22.7 points to 17,839.50, and the TOPIX fell 0.18 percent, or 2.6 points to 1,419.13.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA: EWJ) rose 0.48 percent to close at $49.40, while iShares MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Idx (ETF) (NYSEARCA: EPP) dropped 1.64 percent to close at $40.16 on Wednesday.

The benchmark 10-year yield declined half a basis point at 0.010 percent. The Bank of Japan launched an operation to purchase bonds at a fixed rate.

The ICE Dollar Index dropped 0.2 percent to 100.23.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 0.20 percent to trade at $46.01 per barrel on the NYMEX, while Brent for December settlement dropped 0.19 percent to $46.54 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to testify before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in Washington D.C. at 10:00 a.m. ET. U.S. markets closed mixed overnight, with the Dow dropping 0.29 percent to 18,868.14, and the NASDAQ surging 0.36 percent to 5,294.58.

Top market movers among the Japanese market are as follows:

• Shares of Enshu Ltd (6218) climbed around 26 percent to 82.0 JPY.
• Asian Star Co (8946) shares rose around 21 percent to 175.0 JPY.
• Pixel Companyz Inc (2743) shares increased over 18 percent to 526.0 JPY.

• CSS Holdings Ltd (2304) shares dropped around 11 percent to 500.0 JPY.
• Urban Life Co Ltd (8851) declined over 7 percent to 113.0 JPY.
• Kobe Diesel Co Ltd (6016) shares fell 7 percent to 108.0 JPY.