Tokyo: Stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday, following rises on Wall Street, as concerns over the US-China trade row eased after President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on key Chinese goods.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.98 per cent or 200.21 points to 20,655.65 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.90 per cent or 13.36 points at 1,499.93.

"Japanese shares will be bought following the gains in US shares prompted by the sense of relief following the announcement of China tariff delays," Yoshihiro Ito, Okasan Online Securities chief strategist, said in a commentary.

"The yen weakening to the 106-yen level against the dollar is also a plus," he added.

Wall Street stocks rallied Tuesday after Washington delayed until Dec 15 the 10 per cent tariffs for Chinese-made electronics, including items popular with holiday shoppers like cell phones, laptops and video game systems.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.4 per cent, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.5 per cent. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.0 per cent.

The dollar was trading at 106.55 yen in early Asian trade, slightly down from 106.74 yen in New York on Tuesday but up compared to 105.28 yen in Asian trade.

A lower yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes their products more competitive outside Japan and also inflates profits when repatriated.

In Tokyo share trading, Sony rose 1.14 per cent to 5,956 yen while IT investor SoftBank Group gained 1.22 per cent to 4,955 yen.

Uniqlo chain operator Fast Retailing was up 0.88 per cent to 63,350 yen.

AFP