Tokyo stocks opened higher today as investors took heart from rallies on Wall Street and a cheaper yen against the dollar.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.19 per cent, or 259.17 points, at 21,969.17 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 1.04 per cent, or 15.62 points, to 1,511.68.
“Japanese shares are seen rallying, following gains in US stocks” led by high-tech shares on robust IT-sector earnings, senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex, said in a note.
A cheaper yen against the dollar is also supporting exporters, analysts said.
The dollar fetched ¥105.83 in early Asian trade, against ¥105.88 in New York and ¥104.28 in Tokyo late Friday.
In Tokyo, Seven & i Holdings dropped 7.39 per cent to ¥2,969 after the Japanese supermarket and convenience store chain operator said it had agreed to buy Marathon Petroleum’s Speedway gas stations for US$21 billion, in a bid to expand operations in the US.
Elsewhere, Toyota was trading up 1.42 per cent at ¥6,305, Sony was up 2.24 per cent at ¥8,257, and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was up 1.68 per cent at ¥56,990.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.4 per cent at 26,428.32 while the broader S&P 500 closed up 0.8 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied to end 1.5 per cent higher. — AFP
