Japanese shares 0.37pc higher in early trade on US rallies

TOKYO: Japanese shares gained 0.37 percent higher at early trade Tuesday, lifted by continued gains on Wall Street.

The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange firmed 33.45 points to 9,119.86 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Topix rose 0.54 percent or 4.19 points to 781.31.

Japanese shares are tipped to gain further after US bourses extended their winning streak to three straight trading sessions, analysts said.

Gains on the US markets came as global investors cheered Google's move to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings.

Japanese shares remained attractive, with about 65 percent of the Tokyo market's first section shares trading under book value, said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 1.90 percent. The broader S&P 500 was up 2.18 percent, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 1.88 percent.

In the forex market, the yen remained strong against the dollar, standing at 76.75 in Tokyo, little changed from 76.83 yen in New York Monday evening.

The euro stood at $1.4424 and 110.74 yen, compared with $1.4440 and 110.95 yen.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011