TOKYO – Tokyo shares opened higher today, as investors cheered gains on Wall Street last week.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.89%, or 257.98 points, to 29,199.50. The broader Topix index firmed 0.20%, or 3.92 points, to 1,963.11.
“Japan’s Nikkei was the big underperformer last week, but the solid lead from the US suggests Japan is likely to enjoy a positive start to the new week,” said Rodrigo Catril, senior FX market strategist at National Australia Bank.
“Tokyo shares are seen testing upper resistance on the back of rebounding US stocks,” Okasan Online Securities also said in a note.
“The sharp rise of the Nasdaq index last week should encourage buying of major exporter shares,” Okasan said.
But the relatively slow progress of national vaccination efforts in Japan as well as the state of emergency in place in key economic hubs, including here, continue to weigh on the Nikkei index, Rakuten Securities said.
The brokerage added that close attention is needed for possible overheating of the US economy, but investors should continue to pick up Japanese shares, especially issues that react sensitively to economic indicators, and undervalued shares.
The dollar stood at ¥109.53, almost flat from ¥109.51 in New York on Friday.
Among major shares, Nintendo rose 1.61% to ¥68,850. Tech investor SoftBank Group rose 1.02% to ¥8,185. Tokyo Electron, which makes tools to build semiconductors, surged 1.71% to ¥49,280.
Leading shipping firm Nihon Yusen added 1.86% to ¥4,935.
But Toyota fell 0.46% to ¥9,903. Sony Group dipped 0.37% to ¥10,880. – AFP, June 7, 2021
