Tokyo: Stocks open flat

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened flat Thursday, the day after the Bank of Japan decided to hold fire on fresh stimulus measures despite sluggish growth and stagnant prices.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange inched down 0.07 points to 18,310.62 at the start.

The BoJ's decision follows disappointing data that raised questions about the effectiveness of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive to kickstart the economy, which contracted in the second quarter of the year.

On Wednesday the BoJ maintained its recent rhetoric on the state of the economy, saying it "has continued to recover moderately, although exports and production have been affected by the slowdown in emerging economies".

In New York, stocks pushed higher Wednesday, led higher by pharmaceuticals and Internet companies despite disappointing earnings news from Yum Brands and Adobe Systems.

The Dow Jones industrial Average advanced 0.73 per cent, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.80 per cent. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.90 per cent.

On currency markets, the dollar edged down 119.93 yen early Thursday in Tokyo from 120.00 yen late Wednesday in New York.

The euro traded at US$1.1235 and 134.76 yen compared with US$1.1237 and 134.83 yen.

AFP