TOKYO, May 18 ― Tokyo shares opened higher today on bargain hunting, shrugging off news of a shrinking economy in Japan and ongoing worries over coronavirus infections.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.82 per cent, or 228.40 points, to 28,053.23 while the broader Topix index added 0.63 per cent, or 11.82 points, to 1,890.68.

Investors looked for bargains after recent falls, including a 0.92 per cent loss in the Nikkei index on Monday, while the yen slowed its appreciation against the dollar, giving some support to the market.

Overnight falls on Wall Street were moderate, with the Dow ending 0.2 per cent lower, while the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 0.4 per cent.

"Last week, we saw sharp falls (of Tokyo shares). And now we are seeing a natural reaction to that,” said Makoto Sengoku, senior equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

"Japanese shares fell rather sharply yesterday too. Then US shares... were seen as relatively calm. So that was seen as positive for the market,” he added.

Okasan Online Securities said: "The market is seeing active bargain hunting. Gains of Toyota shares are also brightening market sentiment.”

Toyota jumped 1.99 per cent to ¥8,820 (RM333.20), while rival Nissan also surged 1.39 per cent to ¥545.3. Honda soared 2.75 per cent to ¥3,327.

Shortly before the Tokyo market opened, the Cabinet Office said Japan's economy contracted 1.3 percent in the three months to March, broadly in line with market expectations.

"As for the GDP, I think people knew what was coming,” Sengoku said. "It was to be expected under the coronavirus pandemic. I believe the market has it broadly factored in.”

Among blue-chip stocks, Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing added 2.82 per cent to ¥88,520. SoftBank Group rose 1.71 per cent to ¥8,575. Robot maker Fanuc surged 2.60 per cent to 25,215.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group jumped 1.93 per cent to ¥624.3.

But Nintendo gave up gains and dipped 0.24 per cent to ¥62,560. ― AFP