Tokyo stocks lose ground in morning on Wall Street's slide, yen's rise

TOKYO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks lost ground Thursday morning following U.S. shares retreating on Wall Street overnight, while the yen's appreciation against the U.S. dollar added to a dour market mood and weighed on exporter issues.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 137.17 points, or 0.66 percent, from Wednesday to 20,736.89.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 14.96 points, or 0.95 percent, at 1,567.17.

Oil and coal product, mining, and pulp and paper-linked issues comprised those that declined the most before the morning break.