Tokyo stocks open higher as sentiment improves

[Tokyo] Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday, shrugging off a stronger yen as investor sentiment improved with the three key US markets closing higher overnight.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.16 per cent, or 33.26 points to 21,277.94 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.26 per cent or 4.48 points at 1,721.26.

Wall street stocks finished higher on Tuesday, rising for a third straight session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.2 per cent at 24,640.45.

"The Dow's rise for the third straight day is supporting Japanese shares but a higher yen is discouraging" investors, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary.

The dollar fetched 107.76 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.83 yen in New York and 108.09 yen in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten was up 3.98 per cent at 972.2 yen after its fourth quarter earnings matched market expectations.

Game giant Nintendo was up 0.85 per cent at 44,780 yen while Sony climbed 0.39 per cent to 5,119 yen.

However some blue-chip exporters were lower, with Toyota edging down 0.64 per cent to 7,229 yen and Panasonic slipping 0.90 per cent to 1,579 yen.

AFP