Tokyo stocks open sharply lower on Wall Street's slide, yen's rise

Tokyo, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower Thursday as wall street's overnight slide coupled with a comparatively firm yen against the U.S. dollar dented investor sentiment.

As of 9:15 a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 374.68 points, or 1.75 percent, from Wednesday to 21,004.05.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 27.83 points, or 1.73 percent, at 1,581.66.

All industry categories retreated into negative territory, with oil and coal product, precision instrument and marine transportation-linked issues comprising those that declined the most in the opening minutes after the morning bell.