TOKYO, Nov 8 — Tokyo stocks opened higher today following a rally in US shares after the US midterm elections produced no major surprises.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.58 per cent or 348.68 points in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 1.46 per cent or 24.08 points at 1,676.51.

The initial reaction to the midterm election result — a split Congress that analysts say is likely to halt any major advances in President Donald Trump’s economic agenda—”differed between the Japanese and US markets,” said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities.

"But today Japanese shares are seen rallying after a surge in the US market,” he said in a commentary.

The rallies in Tokyo come after the Japanese bourse on Tuesday closed lower as investors took profits at the last minute after gains on reported US vote results.

Investors were also continuing to evaluate shares with sound corporate earnings reports, analysts said.

The dollar changed hands at ¥113.62 (RM4.15) in early Asian trade, against ¥113.53 in New York.

In Tokyo, blue-chip exporters were higher, with Sony advancing 2.52 per cent to ¥6,259, Olympus up 2.08 per cent at ¥3,665 and Toyota up 1.62 per cent at ¥6,747.

Fujifilm rose 2.74 per cent to ¥4,904 after it reported a better-than-expected operating profit of ¥47.1 billion in the second quarter to September.

Oil developer Inpex jumped 5.20 per cent after it boosted its planned full-year dividend to ¥24 per share from ¥18.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 2.1 per cent at 26,180.30. — AFP