Tokyo stocks open higher on US gains

TOKYO: Tokyo shares rose at the open on Tuesday after Wall Street finished mostly higher, setting fresh records.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.52 percent, or 142.01 points, to 27,665.20 at the open, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.36 percent, or 6.92 points, to 1,931.90.

"Tokyo shares are likely to bounce back today as buying sentiment will be strong after stability in US markets," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

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But Mizuho Securities warned that the Tokyo market will be "weighed down by rising virus cases and geopolitical risks that are pushing the yen higher."

Japan has seen nationwide daily coronavirus cases top 20,000 in recent days, driven by the highly infectious Delta variant.

The government is expected to extend a virus state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions and expand the measure to other areas later in the day.

The dollar fetched 109.25 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.23 in New York and 109.41 yen in Tokyo on Monday.

In Tokyo trading, market heavyweight SoftBank Group rose 0.35 percent to 6,528 yen while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing dipped 0.06 percent to 73,170 yen.

Chip maker Tokyo Electron jumped 1.58 percent to 45,640 after the company reported a 77.8 percent jump in net profit in the three months to June thanks to growing chip demand.