TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened higher today supported by solid gains on Wall Street ahead of the US presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, and expected stimulus spending by his government.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.50% or 142.64 points to 28,776.10 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.09% or 1.66 points at 1,857.50.
“Japanese shares are seen gaining with support from rallies in the US market, but a wait-and-see attitude will increase ahead of the (US) presidential inauguration ceremony,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.
The dollar fetched 103.89 yen in early Asian trade, against 103.90 yen in New York late yesterday.
Among major shares in Tokyo, Sony was up 0.61% at 10,670 yen, Panasonic was up 1.26% at 1,326 yen, and industrial robot maker Fanuc was up 1.33% at 27,490.
ANA Holdings was down 2.18% at 2,259.5 yen after a report said the airline is planning to book a current loss of more than ¥300 billion (RM11.7 billion) for the nine months that ended in December. – AFP, January 20, 2021
