TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday as investors took heart from rallies on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.23%, or 75.35 points, at 32,761.60 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.14%, or 3.32 points, to 2,324.67.
Senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of brokerage Monex said that the Japanese market is supported by rallies in US shares while worries remain about a stronger yen, according to AFP.
He said that trade will likely be in a narrow range as investors are watching the yen-dollar levels.
He added that a set of China’s economic indicators due later in the day, including retail sales and factory output for November, are also in focus.
The dollar fetched 142.36 yen in early trade in Asia, against 141.87 yen in New York and 141.40 yen in Tokyo late Thursday — levels much above than the 145.80 yen on Wednesday.
Overnight on Wall Street, all 3 top indices ended higher following solid US retail sales and central bank moves to hold interest rates steady.
Other stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 37,248.35, up 0.4%, its second straight record close, the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.3%, while tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2%.
Among major shares in Tokyo, Sony Group went up 2.66% to 13,305 yen, Toyota advanced 1.22% to 2,603 yen, and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest surged 6.24% to 4,956 yen.
SoftBank Group jumped 1.90% to 6,045 yen. Construction machine maker Komatsu surged 1.27% to 3,594 yen.
