TOKYO, Jan 21 — Tokyo stocks opened higher today, extending US rallies on hopes of new stimulus after President Joe Biden took office, with traders awaiting a Bank of Japan policy decision.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.86 per cent, or 246.13 points, to 28,769.39 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.68 per cent, or 12.57 points, to 1,862.15.
“Japanese shares are seen supported by US rallies, with focus now on the Bank of Japan’s policy decision” due later in the day, Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a note.
The dollar fetched ¥103.50 (RM4.04) in early Asian trade, against ¥103.53 in New York.
“Vaccine news remains very encouraging with Israel reporting it has now given a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to 24 per cent of its population, and six per cent of the population have received their second and final dose,” National Australia Bank’s analyst Tapas Strickland added.
“Encouragingly Pfizer/BioNTech also released a study that suggests their vaccine is as effective against the UK variant,” though it was a microstudy of 16 people, he added.
Wall Street hit new records and stock markets across the globe climbed after Biden took office yesterday, with traders joyful over his plan to inject even more stimulus into the world’s largest economy.
The Dow and S&P 500 posted all-time highs, but none gained more than the Nasdaq, which climbed 2.0 per cent to a new record thanks in part to Netflix, which saw its share price surge after strong quarterly earnings.
In Tokyo, high-tech and IT shares were higher, with Panasonic rallying 3.66 per cent to ¥1,386.5, Fujitsu trading up 1.91 per cent at ¥16,255, and Olympus up 2.41 per cent at ¥2,057.
Japan’s trade surplus in December stood at ¥751 billion (US$7.3 billion) market expectations of ¥719.2 billion, according to data released 10 minutes before the opening bell.
For the year 2020, the country’s trade account booked a surplus of ¥674.7 billion, after two years of trade deficit. — AFP
