Tokyo: Stocks open higher following Wall Street after US vote

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday following a rally in US shares after the US midterm elections produced no major surprises.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.58 per cent or 348.68 points in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 1.46 per cent or 24.08 points at 1,676.51.

The initial reaction to the midterm election result - a split Congress that analysts say is likely to halt any major advances in President Donald Trump's economic agenda - "differed between the Japanese and US markets," said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities.

"But today Japanese shares are seen rallying after a surge in the US market," he said in a commentary.

The rallies in Tokyo come after the Japanese bourse on Tuesday closed lower as investors took profits at the last minute after gains on reported US vote results.

Investors were also continuing to evaluate shares with sound corporate earnings reports, analysts said.

The dollar changed hands at 113.62 yen in early Asian trade, against 113.53 yen in New York.

In Tokyo, blue-chip exporters were higher, with Sony advancing 2.52 percent to 6,259 yen, Olympus up 2.08 per cent at 3,665 yen and Toyota up 1.62 per cent at 6,747 yen.

Fujifilm rose 2.74 per cent to 4,904 yen after it reported a better-than-expected operating profit of 47.1 billion yen in the second quarter to September.

Oil developer Inpex jumped 5.20 per cent after it boosted its planned full-year dividend to 24 yen per share from 18 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 2.1 per cent at 26,180.30.

AFP