Tokyo stocks open higher despite lack of fresh clues

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday following two days of profit-taking, with few market-moving cues coming out of the United States after a public holiday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.68 percent or 191.95 points at 28,434.16 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.18 percent or 3.35 points to 1,848.84.

"With few fresh clues for trade after the US market was closed, investors are trying to work out where to rebound to" after recent falls on profit-taking, said Yoshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a note.

Investors were watching headlines linked to Japan's vaccination schedule after Taro Kono, a high-profile minister for administrative and regulatory reforms, was tasked with coordinating the vaccine rollout, analysts said.

The dollar fetched 103.68 yen in early Asian trade, against 103.65 yen in London on Monday.

In Tokyo, chip-linked shares were higher, with manufacturer Tokyo Electron rallying 2.27 percent to 44,200 yen, and testing equipment maker Advantest trading up 3.08 percent at 9,040 yen.

Banks were also higher, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial trading up 0.83 percent at 495.3 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial up 0.81 percent at 3,468 yen.