ZCZC
BCN-02
STOCKS-JAPAN-OPEN
Tokyo stocks open higher in thin holiday trade
TOKYO, Dec 25, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday
supported by gains on Wall Street in thin trade with overseas investors
absent for Christmas holidays.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.17 percent or 44.57 points at
26,712.92 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.22 percent
or 3.98 points to 1,778.25.
“Japanese shares are seen supported by US rallies, but trade is seemingly
limited to modest bargain-hunting with a decline in the number of market
participants,” senior market strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online
Securities said in a commentary.
Worries over a rise in new coronavirus infections and its impact on
economic activity, ahead of the year-end and new-year holidays when many
people normally travel in Japan, are weighing on the market, he added.
The dollar fetched 103.67 yen in early Asian trade, against 103.70 on
Thursday in New York.
In Tokyo, shipping firms were higher, with Mitsui O.S.K. lines rallying
4.15 percent to 3,085 yen and Nippon Yusen climbing 5.70 percent to 2,374
yen, after Britain and the European Union struck a trade deal following 10
months of intense negotiations.
Automakers were also higher with Toyota trading up 0.65 percent at 7,793
yen and Nissan up 1.16 percent at 557.7 yen.
Japan’s jobless rate was 2.9 percent in November, improving from 3.1
percent in the previous month, but the latest figure didn’t prompt strong
market reaction.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.2 percent at 30,200.92 following a
lightly-traded, shortened Christmas Eve session.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0919 hrs