TOKYO, July 15 ― Tokyo stocks opened higher today, extending rallies on Wall Street on hopes of economic recovery and advances in coronavirus treatments.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.01 per cent or 228.24 points at 22,815.25 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.85 per cent or 13.35 points to 1,578.50.
Wall Street stocks were back in rally mode yesterday, shrugging off mixed results from large banks and gaining ground on hopes for more stimulus spending from Washington.
“Also supportive of risk was reports of Moderna going ahead with a firm date for phase three trials ― set for July 27,” said Tapas Strickland, economist at National Australia Bank, referring to the US biotech firm's announcement it would begin the final stage of human trials for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
The Chinese trade data released yesterday, “which continued the string of upbeat June activity readings,” is also contributing to positive sentiment in the market, he added.
US stocks had short-lived gains earlier this week following announcements from Pfizer and BioNTech that two of four vaccine candidates for the coronavirus received “Fast Track” designation from the US Food and Drug Administration.
The dollar fetched ¥107.23 (RM4.26) in early Asian trade, against ¥107.28 in New York yesterday.
In Tokyo, automakers were among winners, with Honda rallying 2.88 per cent to ¥2,838, Nissan jumping 5.12 per cent to ¥410.3 and Toyota trading up 1.14 per cent at ¥6,821.
China-linked shares were also higher, with construction machine maker Komatsu trading up 2.19 per cent at ¥2,265.5 and industrial robot maker Fanuc jumping 4.62 per cent to ¥21,160.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.1 per cent to 26,642.59. ― AFP
