Tokyo stocks close higher on US rallies

Tokyo stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors continued buying back following recent declines, taking heart from rallies on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.87 percent, or 237.86 points, to 27,732.10, while the broader Topix index gained 1.00 percent, or 19.06 points, to 1,934.20.

"US rallies prompted investors to continue buying back shares following last week's declines," Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP.

"The market has shifted its focus to Jackson Hole" where Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell will make a policy speech later this week, Horiuchi said.

Trading is expected to be range-bound for the rest of the week "as profit-taking can easily emerge at this level," he added.

The dollar fetched 109.78 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 109.67 yen in New York.

In Tokyo, chip-related shares gained ground. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest jumped 1.79 percent to 9,050 yen with chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron up 1.99 percent at 44,970 yen.

Panasonic rose 0.32 percent to 1,254 yen after a report the Osaka-based company plans to move the headquarters of its mainstay business to Tokyo.

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday as investors took heart from rallies on Wall Street partly fuelled by vaccine hopes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.70 percent or 191.98 points at 27,686.22 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.75 percent or 14.28 points to 1,929.42.

"Japanese shares are likely to continue a positive streak as investors were relieved to see a new record on the (US) Nasdaq index" and strong economic indicators, Okasan

Online Securities said in a note.

On Wall Street, stronger-than-expected home sales data as well as the full regulatory approval of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine boosted positive sentiment.

The dollar fetched 109.64 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.67 yen in New York.

In Tokyo, Sony rallied 4.18 percent to 11,460 yen while game giant Nintendo was up 1.33 percent at 53,260 yen.

Panasonic was up 1.52 percent at 1,269 yen after a report the Osaka-based company plans to move the headquarters of its mainstay business to Tokyo.

Shipping firms rallied, with Nippon Yusen gaining 4.72 percent to 7,980 yen and Kawasaki Kisen up 4.17 percent at 4,995 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.6 percent at 35,335.71 and the broad-based S&P closed up 0.9 percent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq jumped 1.6 percent to a new record.