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Tokyo stocks open higher on eased fears over Ukraine
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People walk at the Shibuya crossing in rainy Tokyo on February 13, 2022.
(AFP/Kazuhiro Nogi)
Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday extending Wall Street rallies on easing fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.98 percent or 531.82 points at 27,397.01 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 1.53 percent or 29.37 points to 1,944.07
"After gains in early trade with support from US stocks rallies, the focus will be on whether the Nikkei index could surpass the 27,500 level," senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said in a note.
Investors were also awaiting a release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve's meeting, due later in the day, for clues of the US central bank's policy directions.
Wall Street stocks cheered Russia's more conciliatory posture on Ukraine, rallying after three straight negative sessions.
All three US major indices finished solidly higher, while oil prices retreated, as Russia said it had undertaken a partial pullback of troops from the Ukrainian border.
Western leaders applauded the statement, but called for verification. US President Joe Biden said that a Russian attack on Ukraine remains "very much" a possibility, but that a diplomatic solution to the crisis could yet be reached.
The dollar fetched 115.66 yen in early Asian trade, against 115.62 yen in New York late Tuesday.
Among major shares in Tokyo, Sony Group rallied 1.15 percent to 12,350 yen after announcing the capital expenditure on a joint plant with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will rise by over 100 billion yen to $8.6 billion.
Denso, the world's second largest auto parts supplier, also announced it will also invest in the plant and its shares were up 2.65 percent at 8,632 yen.
Shin-Etsu Chemical was up 2.92 percent at 18,525 yen after a report it will boost output capacity of parts for EV batteries.
Kirin Holdings was up 1.04 percent at 1,998.5 yen after it said it will sell all stakes in a joint venture in China while keeping the business alliance including intellectual property licensing for a soft drinks business in China.
