Tokyo stocks open higher as yen falls

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday as risk appetite picked up on a cheaper yen and advances on Wall Street, ahead of the planned signing of a China-US trade pact.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.66 percent or 156.57 points to 24,007.14 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.33 percent or 5.71 points at 1,740.87.

"Expectations of improved US-China relations are providing a tailwind," said Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute. On Wall Street on Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq surged to fresh records amid enthusiasm at the impending signing of the USChina trade deal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also advanced 0.3 percent two days before President Donald Trump is due to sign a "phase one" agreement with Beijing. Risk aversion also receded after Washington formally retracted its accusation that China manipulates its currency to gain unfair trade advantage, Sengoku said.

The yen has fallen as safehaven buying waned.

The dollar rose to 110.06 yen from 109.92 yen in New York on Monday and the 108yen range seen a week ago.

In individual stocks trade, Nissan fell 1.77 percent to 625.6 yen after reports that it has mulled plans for a possible break-away from its alliance with Renault, which has a 43 percent stake in the scandal-hit Japanese automaker.

"After previous much sharper drops in Nissan, today's fall looks limited," Sengoku at Tokai Tokyo told AFP.

"The stock price wouldn't be at this level if investors were seriously concerned about the possibility," he said, adding many of them were still in a "wait-and-see" mood.

Toyota gained 0.95 percent to 7,734 yen and IT investor SoftBank Group rose 2.41 percent to 4,996 yen.

When Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called for street protests at the weekend in a bid to rekindle popular outrage against President Nicolas Maduro, only a few hundred people turned up.

It's a far cry from the tens of thousands he mobilized a year ago after declaring himself interim president and winning recognition from more than 50 countries.

Many, like Jhoan Navarro, would rather turn their attention to the beach these days, glad of a distraction from the seemingly unending political standoff which they say has brought little change to their lives.

Navarro on Sunday made the hour's journey north from Caracas to Camuri Chico beach on the Caribbean coast with his wife and daughter "for a change of air, to clear our minds."

"When I have a problem with my wife we work it out together, but we know that neither Maduro nor Guaido are going to solve our economic problems," said Navarro, bopping to music blaring from the speakers of his car, parked on the edge of the sand.

- 'No change' -

Like many, he has become inured to Guaido's year-long joust with Maduro.

Maria Eugenia Hernandez, on the beach with a group of her friends -- "all single mothers" -- said she had supported Guaido from the beginning.

But she admits the 36-yearold opposition leader has made no inroads on the socialist president's grip on power.

"To be honest, he hasn't done much. I don't see any change. Nothing," said Hernandez.