TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened flat Friday in cautious trade after a mixed Wall Street close, with investors weighing the impact of fresh Japan stimulus to be announced later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.04 percent or 12.30 points at 29,610.96 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.02 percent or 0.34 points at 2,035.86.
"Hopes for the economic stimulus and prospects that major automakers will return to normal output (after supply-chain issues and chip shortage) are supporting the market, while worries over US inflation are a burden" on the Japanese market, Mizuho Securities said in a commentary.
The dollar fetched 114.28 yen in early Asian trade, against 114.25 yen in New York late Thursday.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is expected to announce plans for a record 55.7 trillion yen ($490 billion) stimulus to support Japan's economy, which saw a worse-than-expected contraction in the third quarter to September due to the pandemic.
The overall size of the stimulus is calculated at 78.9 trillion yen if low-rate loans and funds are included, local media reported.
In Tokyo, Mizuho Financial Group was down 1.99 percent at 1,456.5 yen after reports said its Chief Executive Officer Tatsufumi Sakai will step down in the wake of multiple technical failures that drew criticism from the government.
Nissan was up 0.71 percent at 639.1 yen after a US brokerage firm revised up its evaluation of the automaker's shares.
Its rivals were mixed, with Honda trading up 1.83 percent at 3,286 yen but Toyota trading down 0.75 percent at 2,108.5 yen.
Among others, Canon was up 1.14 percent at 2,606 yen but Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was down 0.43 percent at 73,750 yen and airline ANA Holdings was down 1.03 percent at 2,701.5 yen.
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