TOKYO, June 27 — Tokyo stocks opened higher today, extending strong rallies on Wall Street, where the weakening economic outlook moderated expectations on central bank monetary tightening.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.02 per cent, or 271.10 points, at 26,763.07 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 1.00 per cent, or 18.60 points, at 1,885.32.
The dollar fetched ¥135.00 (RM4.40), against 135.17 yen in New York late Friday.
“Gains in US shares are likely encouraging investors in Japanese stocks to buy,” Mizuho Securities said.
On Wall Street, the Dow gained 2.7 per cent to 31,500.68, the broad-based S&P 500 added 3.1 per cent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 3.3 per cent.
The heightened global recession risk is leading investors to speculate that the pace of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes could be slower than expected, analysts said.
But Rakuten Securities senior strategist Masayuki Kubota shrugged off recession worries, saying it “most likely” will not happen, while US and Japanese share prices have now fallen far enough for bargain-hunting purchases to dominate.
Sony Group rallied 1.69 per cent to ¥11,440, chip-testing equipment manufacturer Advantest was up 1.62 per cent at ¥7,510, and Hitachi was up 2.05 per cent at ¥6,523.
Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) was up 3.98 per cent at 496 yen, after the industry ministry warned that electricity’s demand-supply balance will be tight on Monday due to hot weather. — AFP
