TOKYO, March 11 ― Tokyo stocks opened marginally higher today supported by rallies on US key indexes, with investors remaining cautious ahead of the ECB monetary decision.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up just 0.05 per cent or 13.77 points at 29,050.33 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.01 per cent or 0.22 points at 1,919.96.
“Even though a wait-and-see attitude may grow ahead of the ECB board meeting this evening, risk-on sentiment is intact as the Dow in New York hit a fresh record,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.
However, a decline in the US tech-rich Nasdaq index was weighing on high-tech shares in Japan, analysts added.
The dollar fetched ¥108.43 (RM4.10) in early Asian trade, against ¥108.38 in New York late yesterday.
Among major shares in Tokyo, shipping firm Nippon Yusen rallied 4.92 per cent to ¥3,305 and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was up 1.54 per cent at ¥93,160.
Sony was down 0.50 per cent at ¥10,945 and Panasonic was off 1.80 per cent at ¥1,308.5.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 1.5 per cent at 32,297.02 and the broad-based S&P closed up 0.6 per cent but the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped less than 0.1 per cent to 13,068.83. ― AFP
