Tokyo's Nikkei index ends higher

Tokyo's key Nikkei index rebounded from earlier losses to end higher on Wednesday, with investors somewhat reassured after Washington said it was "unlikely" a missile that hit Poland was fired from Russia.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.14 percent, or 38.13 points, at 28,028.30, while the broader Topix index edged down 0.05 percent, or 0.93 points, to 1,963.29.

The dollar fetched 139.75 yen, against 139.16 yen in New York late Tuesday.

News that a possible Russian missile had landed in a village in NATO-member Poland, killing two people, spooked investors in Tokyo initially, prompting sell-offs in the morning.

But later US President Joe Biden, when asked if the missile had been fired from Russia, said that scenario was "unlikely".

"Biden saying the missile's origin was unconfirmed helped ease investors' fears," Toshikazu Horiuchi of IwaiCosmo Securities told AFP.

"Excessive vigilance around (the situation near the Ukraine border) has subsided for now in Japan," he said.

SoftBank Group jumped 2.94 percent to 6,328 yen, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing added 0.36 percent to 83,350 yen.

Meanwhile, Toyota dipped 0.10 percent to 1,996 yen. The auto giant on Wednesday unveiled the "fifth generation" of its popular Prius model, credited for pioneering the hybrid vehicle market.

Sony Group lost 1.72 percent to 11,390 yen.

On a street in Wusterhausen, around an hour's drive north of Berlin, a man paces intently, holding his mobile phone in front of him.

"I'm looking for network, because here this area is not good," says Arek Karasinski, in town on a business trip from Poland.

Issues with phone signal are a source of constant frustration for the residents of Wusterhausen, which sits in one of Germany's many blackspots, out of reach of any mobile network.

"We're here in Germany, an industrial nation, and we have all of these dead zones," says Matthias Noa, head of waste management firm AWU.

Noa was so exasperated that when the local government asked if they could use his garbage trucks to do something about it, he quickly agreed.

Since the summer, the trucks have been fitted with a device that measures the signal quality on their routes across the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin.

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday, extending rallies on Wall Street, where the dollar retreated and markets began to look beyond the US midterm elections.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.71 percent, or 194.51 points, at 27,722.15 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 0.63 percent, or 12.21 points, to 1,946.30.

The dollar fetched 146.65 yen in early Asian trade, against 146.68 yen in New York late Monday.

"Buying is leading Japanese shares following US stocks rallies," but a wait-and-see attitude will likely grow "ahead of US consumer price index" data due this week, Mizuho Securities said.

Market players were also closely watching corporate earnings reports due later in the day, the investment bank added.

US stocks rose overnight for a second straight session "as Wall Street awaits both the midterm elections... and a pivotal inflation report," said Oanda senior market analyst Edward Moya.

"Tuesday's US midterm elections could be market-moving if we see a Democratic surprise or if Republicans dominate the polls, but most traders are zeroing in on Thursday's inflation report," he said.

Sony Group rallied 3.09 percent to 11,180 yen after a report said the electronic conglomerate will eliminate plastic packaging.

Toshiba was down 1.62 percent at 5,035 yen after investment fund Japan Industrial Partners reportedly proposed taking over the conglomerate for 2.2 trillion yen ($15 billion). Yamaha Motor soared 8.39 percent to 3,425 yen after it raised its full-year operating profit forecast.