Tokyo: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday, rebounding from the previous day’s five percent drop as the yen’s rise took a breather.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which on Tuesday closed at a 20-month low on worries over the US economy, gained 1.45 percent or 277.75 points to 19,433.49 in early trade. The broader Topix index was up 1.37 percent or 19.39 points at 1,434.94.
Despite the recent market rout, there has been no clear sign of a recession in the US economy, said Norio Miyagawa, senior economist at Mizuho Securities.
“Our judgement is that the US economy remains solid at the moment” though investors need pay attention to the possible impact of US trade rows with other countries on financial markets and business outlooks, he said in a note.
“As financial markets regain their calm, we expect US stocks and the dollar will track higher,” he said in a report.
Heavy selling hit the Tokyo market on Christmas Day following a brutal holiday-shortened session on Wall Street. The yen drew safe-haven buying, weighing on sentiment.
In early trade Wednesday however exporters recouped some ground on a lull in the yen’s appreciation against the dollar.
Toyota rose 1.71 percent to 6,183 yen and Nintendo climbed 1.04 percent to 28,060 yen.
The dollar was changing hands at 110.46 yen, up from 110.01 yen late Tuesday but still down from the 111-yen range seen last week.
[source_without_link]AFP[/source_without_link]