TOKYO, Jan 14 ― Tokyo stocks were higher in early trade after opening modestly lower today as investors adjusted positions following recent rallies and a mixed end on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.90 per cent or 255.26 points at 28,711.85 about 40 minutes after the opening bell, while the broader Topix index was up 0.41 per cent or 7.56 points at 1,871.96.

“Japanese shares are seen moving in a narrow range following a mixed close in the US market,” senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said in a commentary.

“Amid a sense of overheating in the short term, the focus is whether the Nikkei will be able to sustain the steady trend that had been seen” until the previous session, he added.

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“US impeachment proceedings do not appear to be having an overwhelming impact on markets,” added Tapas Strickland, senior analyst at National Australia Bank.

The dollar fetched ¥103.83 (RM4.03) in early Asian trade, against ¥103.82 in New York.

In Tokyo, cyclical shares were higher with electronic parts maker Rohm rallying 3.11 per cent to ¥11,600, another parts maker Murata Manufacturing climbing 3.83 per cent to ¥10,560, and industrial robot maker Fanuc trading up 1.26 per cent at ¥27,415.

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Pharmaceuticals Astellas Pharma was down 0.48 per cent at ¥1,648.5, Chugai was down 0.86 per cent at ¥5,787 and Shionogi was down 1.16 per cent at ¥5,817 after brokerage firms downgraded their evaluation of its shares.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down less than 0.1 per cent at 31,060.47, while the broad-based S&P 500 closed up 0.2 per cent and the tech-rich Nasdaq ended up 0.4 per cent. ― AFP