Tokyo stocks open higher as Honda revs up

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday as the yen remained cheap against the dollar while Honda jumped more than four percent after it raised its annual profit outlook.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.38 percent, or 84.84 points, to 22,504.92 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.31 percent, or 5.54 points, at 1,792.25.

The dollar was quoted at 113.94 yen in early trade after rising as high as 114.20 yen earlier in the session, against 114.12 yen in New York late Wednesday.

Reports that US President Donald Trump has informed Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell that he will succeed Janet Yellen as the next Fed chief "will support Japanese shares", Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

"The possibility of a rapid pace of US rate hikes was reduced" after the report, it said, as Powell is seen as holding a policy position close to Yellen, it said.

Honda climbed 4.41 percent to 3,734 yen after Japan's third-largest automaker revved up its annual profit outlook, saying it now expects net profit of 585 billion yen ($5.0 billion) for the year to March 2018 instead of the earlier projected 545 billion yen.

Its rivals were also higher, with Toyota edging up 0.76 percent at 7,092 yen and Nissan up 0.45 percent at 1,114 yen.

ANA Holdings was down 0.47 percent at 4,437 yen on profit-taking after the airline upgraded its full-year forecasts, now expecting a record 132 billion yen for the current year to March 2018 from a previous estimate of 125 billion yen.

In New York, the Dow closed up 0.3 percent as the Federal Reserve offered an upbeat appraisal of the US economy.