Tokyo stocks open higher on cheap yen

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday, helped by a cheaper yen against the dollar and gains in other Asian markets.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.33 percent or 91.39 points at 27,911.43 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.31 percent or 6.05 points to 1,935.39.

"Following a mixed performance by US shares, the cheaper yen and gains by Chinese shares are seen supporting the Japanese market," senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

Tokyo stocks open lower following US falls

The dollar fetched 110.31 yen in early Asian trade, against 110.35 yen in New York late Monday and 109.82 yen in Tokyo on Friday.

The Japanese market was closed on Monday for a national holiday.

The market's focus includes "corporate earnings reports due this week," said market strategist Shuji Hosoi of Daiwa Securities in a commentary.

"Except for SoftBank Group, many are expected to report increased profits," he said, adding traders "may need to pay attention to the environment for SoftBank Group's mainstay investment fund business."

SoftBank Group was up 1.37 percent at 6,863 yen ahead of its first-quarter earnings report due after market close.

Among other major shares, shipping firm Nippon Yusen was up 1.87 percent at 7,900 yen and Nippon Steel was up 0.85 percent at 2,132.5 yen, but Sony was down 2.58 percent at 11,105 yen and game giant Nintendo was down 2.92 percent at 50,980 yen.

On Wall Street, the benchmark Dow ended down 0.3 percent at 35,101.85 and the broad-based S&P slipped 0.1 percent but the tech-rich Nasdaq closed up 0.2 percent.