Tokyo: Nikkei opens higher after four-day losing streak

[TOKYO] Tokyo's key Nikkei index opened higher on Thursday, as investors hunted for bargains after four days of losses driven by concerns over trade tensions between the United States and China.

The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.30 per cent or 61.87 points to 20,578.43 in early trade while the broader Topix index inched higher by 0.04 per cent or 0.59 points to 1,500.52.

The Nikkei had shed more than 1,000 points in its four-day losing streak to Wednesday.

"Japanese stocks are now looking underpriced and likely to resist falls," Okasan Online chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a note.

But investors were staying away from active buying with the safe-haven yen remaining strong amid US-China trade tensions, raising worries about Japanese exporters' earnings.

The dollar was changing hands at 106.12 yen against 106.23 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group rose on robust earnings, helping boost the Nikkei index.

Shares in the IT investor gained 0.30 per cent to 5,204 yen after it announced its first-quarter net profit had more than tripled thanks to exceptional gains related to the sale of shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Canon was down 0.48 per cent at 2,851 yen and Panasonic was down 0.35 per cent to 830.9 yen.

AFP