Tokyo: Stocks open 0.48% higher

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.48 per cent higher on Wednesday after US stocks snapped a five-day losing streak, while traders await a Fed meeting later in the day.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 96.80 points to 20,425.69 at the start.

On Tuesday, US markets posted strong gains with positive earnings from UPS and a big rally in petroleum-linked stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.09 per cent, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.24 per cent.

In Tokyo forex trade, the dollar was at 123.58 yen early Wednesday, slightly up from 123.56 yen in New York late Tuesday.

The euro changed hands at US$1.1064 and 136.73 yen against US$1.1058 and 136.64 yen in US trade.

Investors were looking ahead to a policy announcement Wednesday from the US Federal Reserve that could signal the timing of an interest rate increase later this year.

AFP