TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher Tuesday on bargain-hunting following a 3% plunge the previous day, but investors remained cautious on signs of a possible global economic slowdown.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.94%, or 197.23 points, to 21,174.34 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.92%, or 14.59 points, at 1,592.00.
“Players are buying back shares as yesterday’s fall was too sharp,“ Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP.
But trading remained nervous, Horiuchi said, adding: “We need to watch key economic indicators to be released this week, which will give us the materials to set a market direction.”
US stocks ended flat on Monday amid lingering unease over global growth, while traders shrugged off news that an investigation found no evidence of collusion between US President Donald Trump’s election campaign and Russia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% but the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also down 0.1%.
The dollar fetched 110.15 yen in early Asian trade, up from 109.96 yen in New York late Monday.
In Tokyo trade, blue-chip exporters gained ground as Toyota rose 0.54% to 6,646 yen with Sony up 1.33% at 4,692 yen.
The banking sector, which suffered heavy losses the previous day, recovered moderately, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial up 0.72% at 557.4 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial up 0.76% at 3,945 yen. — AFP
