Tokyo stocks open higher with eyes on US Fed

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday in cautious trade ahead of the results of the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.13 percent, or 34.94 points, at 27,868.23 in early trade, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.44 percent, or 8.39 points, to 1,934.01.

"Japanese shares are seen starting with gains supported by US rises," Mizuho Securities said in a note.

"However, a wait-and-see attitude will gradually emerge" ahead of the two-day Fed policy meeting starting later in the day, it added.

The dollar fetched 110.28 yen in early Asian trade, against 110.31 yen in New York late Monday.

In Tokyo, shares in firms that tend to be sensitive to economic cycles of production and consumption were relatively higher.

The world's top-selling automaker Toyota was trading up 0.34 percent at 9,863 yen, while Nippon Steel was 2.15 percent higher at 1,851 yen, and Sony was trading up 0.36 percent at 11,015 yen.

Online mall giant Rakuten dived 7.38 percent to 1,216 yen after ratings agency S&P downgraded the company's long-term rating to BB+, a junk status.

On Wall Street, all three major indices mustered narrow gains, with the Dow ending up 0.2 percent at 35,144.31.