Tokyo stocks close higher with eyes on earnings

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Tuesday as expectations for economic recovery were partly offset by concerns over tensions between the United States and China, with investors focused on corporate earnings reports.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.13 percent, or 35.65 points, at 27,284.52 while the broader Topix index was up 0.42 percent, or 8.07 points, at 1,934.06 at the close.

"Reports that the number of new coronavirus infections are declining in the US prompted gains for the Nikkei in early trade, on hopes for the resumption of economic activity," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

But the upward movement was short-lived "as risk-aversion grew on worries about US-China relations", it added.

European stocks rally at open after Tokyo, US gains

The dollar fetched 115.41 yen in Asian trade, against 115.10 yen in New York late Monday.

Toshiba was down 1.77 percent at 4,715 yen after it unveiled plans to split into two companies, revising a controversial proposal to divide into three following a tumultuous period for the storied industrial conglomerate.

SoftBank Group was up 0.94 percent at 1,454.5 yen ahead of its third-quarter earnings report and as the Financial Times reported the investment giant's sale of UK-based chip business Arm to Nvidia collapsed on Monday over fair trade concerns.

After the market closed, the company confirmed the deal had been scrapped and announced it had booked a slight net profit of 29 billion yen ($251 million) in the three months to December.

Nissan was down 0.99 percent at 593 yen ahead of its earnings report after the market close, as a report said the automaker will end most development of new gasoline engine vehicles.

Meanwhile, its bigger rivals were higher, with Toyota ending up 0.90 percent at 2,296 yen and Honda rising 0.18 percent to 3,409 yen.

Japan's household spending dipped 0.7 percent in December from a year earlier, while the spending for 2021 was up 0.7 percent, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry before the opening bell.

The data did not prompt any strong market reactions.