Tokyo: Stocks open higher in thin holiday trade

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday supported by gains on Wall Street in thin trade with overseas investors absent for Christmas holidays.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.17 per cent or 44.57 points at 26,712.92 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.22 per cent or 3.98 points to 1,778.25.

"Japanese shares are seen supported by US rallies, but trade is seemingly limited to modest bargain-hunting with a decline in the number of market participants," senior market strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

Worries over a rise in new coronavirus infections and its impact on economic activity, ahead of the year-end and new-year holidays when many people normally travel in Japan, are weighing on the market, he added.

The US dollar fetched 103.67 yen in early Asian trade, against 103.70 on Thursday in New York.

In Tokyo, shipping firms were higher, with Mitsui OSK lines rallying 4.15 per cent to 3,085 yen and Nippon Yusen climbing 5.70 per cent to 2,374 yen, after Britain and the European Union struck a trade deal following 10 months of intense negotiations.

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Automakers were also higher with Toyota trading up 0.65 per cent at 7,793 yen and Nissan up 1.16 per cent at 557.7 yen.

Japan's jobless rate was 2.9 per cent in November, improving from 3.1 percent in the previous month, but the latest figure didn't prompt strong market reaction.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.2 per cent at 30,200.92 following a lightly-traded, shortened Christmas Eve session.

AFP