Tokyo Shares Open Higher

Tokyo shares opened higher Tuesday, supported by the dollar's appreciation, despite falls on Wall Street

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Feb, 2023 ):Tokyo shares opened higher Tuesday, supported by the dollar's appreciation, despite falls on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei index added 0.14 percent, or 39.86 points, to 27,733.51 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 0.23 percent, or 4.56 points, to 1,983.78.

The positive start came as investors cheered the dollar's relative strength, which generally helps Japanese exporters, despite overnight falls of US shares.

The US currency stood at 132.53 yen, hovering near 132.65 yen seen in New York and trending higher from 132.35 yen seen on Monday in Tokyo.

The Nikkei bagged a four-day winning streak through Monday, partly thanks to the yen's slide amid reports that a dovish deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, Masayoshi Amamiya, may replace incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda, suggesting the central bank will continue its easy monetary policy.

But the weakness of US shares was weighing on the market, online brokerage Monex said.

"The market is seeing a mix of positive and negative factors," it said.

Investors may refrain from active trade before Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Economic Club of Washington, slated for later in the day.

Ahead of the opening bell, Japan's internal affairs ministry said the nation's household spending in December fell 1.3 percent, as people spent less, particularly on housing.

The labour ministry said the nation's real wages dropped 0.9 percent in 2022.

Among major shares, Nissan rose 0.36 percent to 474.1 after it agreed with alliance partner Renault to strike a "rebalanced" partnership.

Under the deal, Renault will bring down its stake in the Japanese automaker to 15 percent from 43.4 percent, while Nissan takes a stake of up to 15 percent in the French firm's electric vehicle venture Ampere.

SoftBank Group fell 0.71 percent to 6,287 yen while Nintendo lost 0.30 percent to 5,604 yen. The two firms are set to announce their quarterly earnings later in the day.