Tokyo stocks fell Thursday morning as the dollar declined against the Japanese yen and the euro.
The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues lost 55.96 points, or 0.49 percent, to 11,397.43 points at the end of morning trading. On Wednesday, the index lost 86.60 points, or 0.75 percent.
The dollar bought 102.54 yen at 11 a.m. Thursday, down 0.70 yen from late Wednesday but above the 102.38 yen it bought in New York Wednesday.
Stocks fell due to concerns about the dollar's weakness against the yen and the euro. The U.S. currency fell in New York due to an unexpected widening of the November U.S. trade deficit.
A weaker dollar hurts Japanese exporters' overseas earnings when converted back into yen.
The U.S. trade data Wednesday showed a new record deficit of $60.3 billion in November versus a consensus for a narrowing to $53.6 billion. The October trade gap was revised up to $56 billion from $55.4 billion. The record trade gap fueled market concerns about the current account deficit, which has been the main factor driving the dollar down in recent months.
The euro rose to $1.3248 Thursday morning in Tokyo from $1.3117 late Wednesday. The euro also rose against the Japanese currency, to 135.90 yen from 135.44 yen.
U.S. stocks, however, gained Wednesday as investors focused on strong earnings news from Intel Corp. instead of the trade deficit report.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 61.56, or 0.58 percent, at 10,617.78. The Nasdaq composite index rose 12.91, or 0.62 percent, to 2,092.53.
In Tokyo Thursday morning, the index of all issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section fell 4.68 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,143.21 points. The TOPIX lost 9.41 points, or 0.81 percent, the day before.
The yield on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond rose to 1.3750 percent from Wednesday's finish of 1.3600 percent. Its price slipped 0.13 to 100.21 points.