TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened higher today as investors factored in the rout last week in New York and shifted attention to the US presidential election and other market-moving events.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.61%, or 139.86 points, at 23,116.99 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 1.04%, or 16.37 points, to 1,595.70.
“Japanese shares are starting with gains as investors factored in falls in US shares,” said Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, in a commentary.
Investors are waiting to see the results of the US election tomorrow, said analysts.
“Covid-19 infections and (the) prospect of new lockdowns are another theme that will keep investors preoccupied,” added Rodrigo Catril, senior strategist at National Australia Bank, in a commentary, also noting the US Fed and BoE meetings this week, and US non-farm payrolls due out on Friday.
The dollar fetched ¥104.56 in early Asian trade, against ¥104.67 in New York.
In Tokyo, Japan Airlines was up 2.09% at ¥1,855 after it said it forecast an annual net loss of more than US$2.3 billion (RM9.56 billion) due to the coronavirus pandemic grounding air travel around the world.
Toyota was up 2.31% at ¥6,960 after a report said the carmaker will boost output to record levels in the November-January period, in response to robust demand in China and the US.
Sony was up 0.91% at ¥8,753 after a report said the company is in talks to acquire US animation distributor Crunchyroll from AT&T.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.6% at 26,501.60, the broader S&P closed down 1.2% and the tech-rich Nasdaq dropped 2.5%. – AFP, November 2, 2020
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