Tokyo Stocks Open Higher Amid Strong US Earnings

Tokyo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Feb, 2024) Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday, supported by active bargain-hunting during Japan's corporate earnings season.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.39 percent, or 141.27 points, at 36,261.19 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.19 percent, or 4.73 points, to 2,554.68.

"The Japanese market will likely be dominated by purchases with investors bargain-hunting based on clues from corporate earnings reports," said senior analyst Ryotaro Sawada of Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

Overnight gains on Wall Street also supported the Tokyo market, analysts said.

US stocks closed higher as a steady flow of strong company earnings continued, with the blue-chip Dow ending up 0.4 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 rising 0.8 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq climbing 1.

0 percent.

The Dollar fetched 148.06 Yen in early Asian trade, down slightly from 148.16 yen in New York.

SoftBank Group soared 7.48 percent to 7,113 yen ahead of its earnings report due after the closing bell.

"Expectations for SoftBank Group's earnings are growing as it holds shares in Arm," the British chip designer whose shares in New York rallied, Sawada said.

Nippon Steel was up 3.11 percent at 3,676 yen after it revised up its full-year net profit forecast.

Nintendo was up 3.02 percent at 8,622 yen. Ship builder Hitachi Zosen was up 2.88 percent at 1,036 yen.

Honda was up 0.38 percent at 1,717 yen, while Nissan was down 0.11 percent at 613 yen ahead of earnings reports due after the market closes.