Tokyo stocks rally in early trade

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks were higher in early trade after opening modestly lower on Thursday as investors adjusted positions following recent rallies and a mixed end on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.90 percent or 255.26 points at 28,711.85 about 40 minutes after the opening bell, while the broader Topix index was up 0.41 percent or 7.56 points at 1,871.96.

"Japanese shares are seen moving in a narrow range following a mixed close in the US market," senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said in a commentary.

"Amid a sense of overheating in the short term, the focus is whether the Nikkei will be able to sustain the steady trend that had been seen" until the previous session, he added.

"US impeachment proceedings do not appear to be having an overwhelming impact on markets," added Tapas Strickland, senior analyst at National Australia Bank.

The dollar fetched 103.83 yen in early Asian trade, against 103.82 yen in New York.

In Tokyo, cyclical shares were higher with electronic parts maker Rohm rallying 3.11 percent to 11,600 yen, another parts maker Murata Manufacturing climbing 3.83 percent to 10,560 yen, and industrial robot maker Fanuc trading up 1.26 percent at 27,415 yen.

Pharmaceuticals Astellas Pharma was down 0.48 percent at 1,648.5 yen, Chugai was down 0.86 percent at 5,787 yen and Shionogi was down 1.16 percent at 5,817 yen after brokerage firms downgraded their evaluation of its shares.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down less than 0.1 percent at 31,060.47, while the broad-based S&P 500 closed up 0.2 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq ended up 0.4 percent.