Tokyo stocks edge up on cheap yen

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday but soon rebounded into positive territory as a cheap yen spurred some investor appetite to offset profit-taking.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which declined in the first few minutes of trade, was up 0.14 percent, or 41.24 points, at 29,957.38 shortly afterwards, while the broader Topix index was up 0.29 percent, or 5.96 points, at 2,069.34.

Tokyo shares "will likely move up and down as profit-taking is weighing on the market while expectations for a new government and a cheap yen (against the dollar) are supporting purchases," Mizuho Securities said in a note.

Japanese shares jump on bargain-hunting, Topix hits 31 year high

Last week, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he will not run in the ruling party's leadership election later this month, throwing open the race for the next premier of the world's third-largest economy.

The Japanese market has been gaining in recent sessions, fuelled by hopes for fresh stimulus measures under a new prime minister after an upcoming party leadership vote.

The dollar fetched 110.31 yen in early Asian trade, against 110.30 yen in New York late Tuesday.

In Tokyo, trading house Mitsubishi Corp was up 1.19 percent at 3,488 yen after it confirmed it will partner with US online retail giant Amazon to build solar panels in hundreds of places across Japan.

Toyota was down 0.10 percent at 9,995 yen after it said it will invest 1.5 trillion yen ($13 billion) in batteries by 2030.

Its smaller rivals were higher, with Honda trading up 0.58 percent at 3,451 yen and Nissan up 1.25 percent at 581.9 yen.

Japan's economy rebounded more strongly than initially thought in the April-June period, the Cabinet Office said 10 minutes before the opening bell.

It now says the economy grew 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, an upwards revision from a preliminary figure of 0.3 percent.

On Wall Street, both the Dow and S&P 500 retreated as a Goldman Sachs note trimmed the forecast for third-quarter consumption growth, while the Nasdaq eked out a record for the fourth straight session.