TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened higher today supported by gains on Wall Street in thin trade with overseas investors absent for the Christmas holidays.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.17%, or 44.57 points, at 26,712.92 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.22%, 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,” said senior market strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities in a commentary.
Worries about 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 said.
The dollar fetched ¥103.67 (RM4.06) in early Asian trade, against 103.70 yesterday in New York.
In Tokyo, shipping firms were higher, with Mitsui O.S.K. lines rallying 4.15% to ¥3,085 and Nippon Yusen climbing 5.70% to ¥2,374, after Britain and the European Union struck a trade deal following 10 months of intense negotiations.
Carmakers were also higher, with Toyota trading up 0.65% at ¥7,793 and Nissan up 1.16% at ¥557.7.
Japan’s jobless rate was 2.9% last month, improving from 3.1% in October, but the latest figure did not prompt a strong market reaction.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.2% at 30,200.92 following a lightly traded, shortened Christmas Eve session. – AFP, December 25, 2020
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