TOKYO, Nov 12 — Tokyo’s key Nikkei index opened higher today after US high-tech shares rebounded on enthusiasm over prospects for a Covid-19 vaccine following two days of declines.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.60 per cent or 152.85 points at 25,502.45 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.07 per cent or 1.20 points to 1,727.87.
“Japanese shares are seen gaining, supported by a sharp rally in the US Nasdaq, while investors are also aware of overheating in the market,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary.
The dollar fetched ¥105.48 (RM4.14) in early Asian trade, against ¥105.59 in London late yesterday.
“Profit-taking selling may weigh on the upside but purchase orders encouraged by expectations for a coronavirus vaccine development are overwhelming the market,” Mizuho Securities said in a commentary.
Investors were awaiting earnings reports later in the day by Nissan and e-commerce platform Rakuten among others, it said.
In Tokyo, chip-linked shares were among winners, with equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron gaining 1.34 per cent to ¥30,240 and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest trading up 1.51 per cent at ¥6,730.
Nissan was down 1.33 per cent at ¥415.6 ahead of its first-half earnings report due after the closing bell.
Honda was down 0.70 per cent at ¥2,973.5 after it won approval to sell highly autonomous self-driving cars in Japan, in what the automaker and Japanese authorities said was a world-first.
Online mall giant Rakuten was up 1.89 per cent at ¥1,132 ahead of its first-half earnings report due after the market close.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones lost 0.08 per cent to 29,397.63 points while the tech-rich Nasdaq gained 2.01 per cent after two sessions of declines. — AFP
