Tokyo stocks open higher as yen remains cheaper

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday despite lingering worries about trade issues as the yen lost ground against the dollar, which tends to boost stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.45 percent or 101.19 points at 22,474.28 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.19 percent or 3.29 points at 1,690.90.

The dollar fetched 111.17 yen in early Asian trade, against 111.18 yen in New York and 110.95 yen in Tokyo on Monday.

The upward movement in Japanese shares, helped by a cheaper yen, may be limited given ongoing concerns over trade issues, analysts said.

“With few market-moving events, it would be difficult to buy actively as uncertainty remains over trade talks around the United States,” SBI Securities said in a commentary.

US President Donald Trump “has suggested taking a certain retaliatory action if no progress is made in US-Japan negotiations,” it noted.

Game giant Nintendo was up 0.85 percent at 38,970 yen and Sony was 0.96 percent higher at 6,305 yen.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was up 1.71 percent at 2,428 yen, reflecting rallies in US high-tech shares.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.2 percent to close 25,857.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 percent to 7,924.16.