Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday, helped by a cheap yen against the dollar after a mixed close on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.29 percent, or 79.88 points, at 27,682.65 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.24 percent, or 4.69 points, to 1,997.78.
Overnight, Wall Street stocks reacted indecisively to mixed US inflation figures.
Investors had been waiting eagerly for the latest inflation data, as the US Federal Reserve has indicated it is looking for pricing pressures to ease before relenting in its campaign of raising interest rates.
While the consumer price index (CPI), an important inflation gauge, eased from last year’s decades-high levels, the dip to an annual rate of 6.4 percent in January was still well above policymakers’ two percent target.
“US CPI was poised to be the key data of the week, and after some volatility following the release, the verdict from rates markets at least is it suggests stickier inflation and a higher path for rates,” National Australia Bank economist Taylor Nugent said in a note.
“Looking through the volatility in the immediate aftermath of the US CPI report, most currency movements have been modest” but “higher yields globally saw the yen a little softer,” he added.
The dollar fetched 132.77 yen in early Asian trade, against 133.07 yen in New York, where it firmed from 131.89 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday.
In Tokyo, Toyota was up 0.29 percent at 1,888 yen, Panasonic was up 1.03 percent at 1,177 yen, and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing was up 0.65 percent at 82,070 yen.
Toshiba was down 0.62 percent at 4,458 yen after it said its operating profit for the October-December quarter declined due partly to weak sales in the electronic devices and storage solutions segment.
© Agence France-Presse
