Tokyo stocks up at break despite N.Korea missile launch

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose Monday morning as investors shrugged off North Korea's latest missile launch.

It was the North's third test in as many weeks, carried out in defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action.

Despite swift political reaction from Japan and South Korea's leaders, analysts said financial markets were getting used to news of Pyongyang's provocations.

"The impact on the Tokyo market is limited," Okasan Online Securities' chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.16 percent, or 30.72 points, to end the morning at 19,717.56, while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.27 percent, or 4.22 points, to 1,573.64.

Sharp, which announced on Friday it expects to return to profitability this year, rose 0.72 percent to 418 yen.

Sony shares were up 0.72 percent at 4,038 yen, while Toyota added 0.57 percent to 5,975 yen.

Toshiba jumped 3.05 percent to 266.3 yen amid reports that its talks with US joint venture partner Western Digital over the sale of a key memory chip factory were progressing well.

Oil explorer Inpex fell 1.06 percent to 1,019.5 yen.

On currency markets, the dollar edged up to 111.35 yen from 111.32 yen in New York Friday.