Tokyo stocks fell in early trading Wednesday as investor sentiment was dented by major declines on Wall Street, but the market had support from better-than-expected machinery orders in Japan.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 12.20 points, or 0.07 percent, from Tuesday to 18,652.91. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 3.10 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,521.65, according to Japan's (Kyodo) News Agency.
Major declining industry groups included oil and coal, mining and nonferrous metal.