TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened marginally higher today, supported by rallies on United States key indexes, with investors remaining cautious ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary decision.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up just 0.05%, or 13.77 points, at 29,050.33 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was higher by 0.01%, or 0.22 points, at 1,919.96.
“Even though a wait-and-see attitude may grow ahead of the ECB board meeting this evening, risk-on sentiment is intact as the Dow in New York hit a fresh record,” said Okasan Online Securities in a commentary.
However, a decline in the US tech-rich Nasdaq index is weighing on high-tech shares in Japan, said analysts.
The dollar fetched ¥108.43 (RM4.12) in early Asian trade, against ¥108.38 in New York late yesterday.
Among the major shares in Tokyo, shipping firm Nippon Yusen rallied 4.92% to ¥3,305 and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was up 1.54% at ¥93,160.
Sony was down 0.50% at ¥10,945, and Panasonic was off 1.80% at ¥1,308.5.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 1.5% at 32,297.02 and the broad-based S&P closed up 0.6%, but the tech-rich Nasdaq slipped less than 0.1% to 13,068.83. – AFP, March 11, 2021