Tokyo stocks edge up on vaccine, stimulus hopes

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed marginally higher on Wednesday, supported by optimism over coronavirus vaccines and revived stimulus talks in the United States.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index inched up 0.05 percent, or 13.44 points, to end at 26,800.98, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.32 percent, or 5.59 points, to 1,773.97.

"The Nikkei index opened higher following gains on US shares but investors were cautious with the index approaching 27,000," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

Investors were also awaiting the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book later in the day for an update on the state of the US economy, said Tapas Strickland, senior analyst at National Australia Bank.

Wall Street provided a healthy lead with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both ending at record highs, as the European Medicines Agency said it would hold an extraordinary meeting on December 29 "at the latest" to consider emergency approval for a vaccine developed by Germany's BioNTech and US giant Pfizer.

The announcement further advances the timeframe to finally bring the pandemic under control and get the world economy back on track.

Markets were also cheered by the revival of efforts on Capitol Hill to enact a fiscal package to support the coronavirus-ravaged US economy, with a bipartisan group of lawmakers offering a $908 billion compromise.

"After Asia woke up to the sound of stimulus sirens, it's a bit of a 'wait-and-see' show, but the encouraging part is the bipartisan effort is the first positive step on the spending front in months," Stephen Innes, at Axi, said in a note.

In Tokyo, automakers were higher with Toyota climbing 0.86 percent to 7,079 yen, Honda jumping 5.08 percent to 3,047 yen and Nissan growing 1.80 percent to 513.1 yen.

Canon gained 3.98 percent to 1,945 yen while Panasonic rose 1.31 percent to 1,153 yen.

Sony fell 1.85 percent to 9,618 yen while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing dipped 0.42 percent to 87,190 yen.

The dollar fetched 104.44 yen in Asian trade, against 104.32 yen in New York late Tuesday.