TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday after two days of rallies, with investors disheartened by falls on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.65 percent or 192.08 points at 29,140.08 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.51 percent or 10.44 points to 2,028.83.

Japanese shares began the day with falls "after US shares dropped following minutes of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting that prompted expectations the Fed will accelerate the normalisation of monetary policy," senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said.

Investor focus is shifting to whether the Nikkei index will remain above the psychologically important 29,000 mark, analysts said.

Tokyo stocks close lower in thin year-end trade

Market players are also beginning to anticipate the US earnings season starting next week, which could provide clues to Japanese corporate performances.

The dollar fetched 116.14 yen against 116.04 yen in New York late Wednesday.

In Tokyo, Sony Group dived 5.99 percent to 14,590 yen after two days of rallies, and after the electronics giant announced on Wednesday it would found a company to explore entering the rapidly growing electric vehicle market.

Automakers were higher, with Toyota trading up 1.29 percent at 2,321.5 yen and Honda up 0.79 percent at 3,443 yen.

Investment and telecom giant SoftBank Group was down 0.57 percent at 5,389 yen, Sharp was off 0.87 percent at 1,369 yen, and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was off 1.68 percent at 11,090 yen.