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Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday, helped by a cheap yen and US tech rallies, as Federal Reserve officials continued to take an aggressive stance on inflation. online news
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.56 percent, or 185.10 points, at 33,449.98 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.38 percent, or 8.77 points, to 2,305.27.
On Wall Street, tech shares powered higher as markets shook off recent weakness, even as the Bank of England and other central banks hiked interest rates again to counter inflation.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 1.0 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.4 percent, while the Dow was essentially unchanged.
Long-term yields rose after the BoE’s rate hike and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s second semi-annual testimony, leading to “the yen’s depreciation against the dollar”, Monex senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama said in a note.
A cheap yen appears to be supporting the Japanese market, he added.
The dollar fetched 143.11 yen in early Asian trade, against 143.13 yen in New York, where the greenback firmed from 141.85 yen in Tokyo late Thursday.
Among individual equities, airlines were among winners, with ANA Holdings trading up 2.15 percent at 3,415 yen and Japan Airlines up 2.95 percent at 3,142 yen.
Panasonic was up 0.41 percent at 1,713 yen, shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was up 0.54 percent at 3,337 yen, and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was up 1.11 percent at 18,735 yen.
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