Tokyo shares open sharply lower on stronger yen

Tokyo shares opened the trading Monday sharply lower as the market was weighed down by rapidly advanced yen and poor performance in U.S. market.

At 9:15 a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was down 481. 63 points, or 2.48 percent, from Friday to 18,954.20, after hitting a nearly five-month intraday low of 18,928.12.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 54.86 points, or 3.49 percent, to 1, 518.15. Endi