Tokyo stocks open higher on rallies in US Dow

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday as market sentiment improved following another record close on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.15 percent, or 46.37 points, to 30,338.56, while the broader Topix index was marginally higher, inching up 0.38 points to 1,961.87.

"Japanese shares are seen rebounding after the Dow in New York hit a third straight record," Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary.

The dollar fetched 105.77 yen in early trade, against 105.86 yen in New York.

Honda dipped 0.68 percent to 3,067 yen after reports said the automaker is planning to announce that Toshihiro Mibe, currently head of research and development, will be promoted to chief executive, while Takahiro Hachigo will step down as CEO.

A Honda spokeswoman declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Among other shares, Takeda Pharmaceutical climbed 1.70 percent to 3,776 yen and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing rallied 4.24 percent to 107,000 yen while Sony was down 0.53 percent at 12,135 yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.3 percent at 31,613.02 while the broad-based S&P was flat and the tech-rich Nasdaq slipped 0.6 percent at the close.