TOKYO, July 9 ― Tokyo's key Nikkei index opened slightly higher today as investors took heart from rallies on Wall Street but trade was subdued with a lack of fresh market-moving events.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.30 per cent or 66.48 points to 22,505.13 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was flat ― down just 0.07 points at 1,557.16.

"Japanese shares are steady as the three major indices in the US market rallied,” said Okasan Online Securities.

But trade is likely to remain subdued as "a higher yen against the dollar is weighing on exporters,” it added.

Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp, said "the uptick in sentiment seems unrelated to any specific news flow... it seems investors are content to ride the narrow ranges.”

The dollar fetched ¥107.20 (RM4.26) in early Asian trade, against ¥107.25 in New York and ¥107.53 in late Tokyo hours on Wednesday.

Among major shares in Tokyo, industrial robot maker Fanuc was higher by 2.2 per cent at ¥19,745, Sony was up 0.12 per cent at ¥7,439 and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing climbed 0.18 per cent at ¥62,240.

But Toyota was down 0.22 per cent at ¥6,713 and Olympus was off 0.90 per cent at ¥1,972.4.

On Wall Street, big gains by large tech companies lifted the Nasdaq to another record close, its fourth in five sessions.

The Dow also ended up 0.7 per cent at 26,067.28. ― AFP