ZCZC
BCN-08
STOCKS-MARKETS-JAPAN-OPEN
Tokyo stocks open higher as yen falls
TOKYO, Feb 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened slightly higher on
Thursday, underpinned by a lower yen and gains in US shares on optimism over
US-China trade talks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which closed at a two-month high on
Wednesday, added 0.18 percent or 37.77 points to 21,182.25 in early trade.
The broader Topix index was up 0.23 percent or 3.67 points at 1,593.00.
“Japanese stocks will likely test their rebounding power (from lows around
the turn of the year) thanks to continued gains in US shares and the yen’s
drop,” Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
The market is “prone to profit-taking out of caution” after the Nikkei
rose more than 800 points in the past two days, it added.
Wall Street stocks rose for a second straight session Wednesday with
investors betting that talks this week in Beijing between top US and Chinese
officials will help avert new US tariff actions scheduled for March 1.
The greenback was changing hands at 110.93 yen early Thursday, up from
110.61 yen when the Tokyo market closed the previous day.
A lower yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes their products
more competitive outside Japan and also inflates profits when repatriated.
Nintendo rose 0.25 percent to 30,070 yen and Honda climbed 1.43 percent to
3,044 yen.
But Nissan was down 0.23 percent at 936.1 yen ahead of new Renault boss
Jean-Dominique Senard’s meeting with officials from the Japanese automaker.
Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn on Wednesday shook up his legal team as
he vowed to vigorously defend himself against financial misconduct charges.
Investor reactions were muted to Japan’s growth data, released early
Thursday, which fell within market expectations.
It showed the world’s third largest economy expanded 0.3 percent in the
final quarter of 2018 after taking a hit from a series of natural disasters
earlier in the year.
BSS/AFP/HR/0935