Tokyo stocks open higher after Wall Street rallies

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday following rallies on Wall Street and in other major markets as fears receded of inflation increases in the United States.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.36 percent, or 101.08 points, to 28,171.59 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.45 percent, or 8.87 points, to 1,962.95. "The Nikkei marked its fifth straight positive start, with buying leading the way," Okasan Online Securities said.

Tokyo stocks close higher

"The global market has digested the US CPI without a hitch, and Tokyo investors are cheering rallies on Wall Street where the Dow and S&P 500 renewed record highs."

Overnight, the Dow rose 0.6 percent to 35,484.97, while S&P 500 added 0.3 percent at 4,447.79, their best-ever finishes.

Frankfurt's DAX also renewed its record high, while Paris ended near an all-time high.

It came after a closely watched US report showed inflation moderating in July.

Consumer prices rose significantly for energy and food, but when those volatile items were left out of the calculation, the core CPI climbed just 0.3 percent, seasonally adjusted -- just a third of the rate in June.

The dollar stood at 110.37 yen, compared with 110.43 yen in New York late Wednesday.

In Tokyo, some market players sounded caution about possible overheating. But steady gains on Wall Street were also encouraging buying, Okasan said.

A broad range of shares trended higher in Tokyo.

Toyota added 0.57 percent to 10,030 yen. Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing rose 1.38 percent to 76,640 yen. SoftBank Group added 0.55 percent to 6,748 yen.

Toshiba added 0.75 percent to 4,685 yen. The troubled industrial conglomerate is due to publish its quarterly earnings later Thursday.

But Sony Group fell 0.05 percent to 11,105 yen. Nintendo fell 0.87 percent to 52,180 yen.