Tokyo stocks close higher

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Tuesday, extending gains on Wall Street while investors kept a cautious eye on Chinese shares.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.41 percent, or 109.33 points, to 26,700.11, while the broader Topix index firmed 0.11 percent, or 1.99 points, to 1,878.51.

The dollar fetched 127.91 yen, off from 128.15 yen on Monday in New York.

As the session opened, the Nikkei “tracked gains on Wall Street and rebounded”, Okasan Online Securities said.

Tokyo shares open lower on rising US yields

After brief falls, the Tokyo stocks picked up again with the market heartened by an upward trend in US stock futures, the brokerage said.

Lockdowns in China however fanned fears of an economic slowdown.

“Rising concerns over China’s economic slowdown are putting a damper on demand for oil, which in turn has weakened inflation, however briefly,” Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, told AFP.

“This is why US stocks rose last night,” he said.

Among major shares in Tokyo, SoftBank Group jumped 4.12 percent to 5,195 yen, Sony Group inched down 0.31 percent to 11,070 yen and Toyota gave up 0.45 percent to 2,180 yen.

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing added 0.29 percent to 61,240 yen and Toshiba gained 0.47 percent to 5,342 yen.