TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday, extending US gains, with investors shifting their focus to earnings due later in the day, including from auto giant Toyota.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.04 percent, or 305.73 points, at 29,826.63 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 0.71 percent, or 14.39 points, to 2,046.06.
"Japanese shares are starting with gains following days of rallies in all three US indices," senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex said in a note.
"Toyota's earnings, which are due during trading hours... are the focus of attention."
The dollar fetched 114.09 yen in early Asian trade, against 114.02 yen in New York late Wednesday.
Toyota was barely moving in early trade, down 0.05 percent at 2,047 yen ahead of its earnings release.
Its smaller rivals were modestly higher, with Honda trading up 0.17 percent at 3,459 yen and Nissan gaining 0.59 percent to 599.6 yen.
Mitsubishi Motors was up 0.82 percent at 370 yen ahead of its earnings report due after the market close.
Nintendo was down 2.10 percent at 48,920 yen after a report said the game giant's Switch console production in the year to March will likely be down by 20 percent from its initial target.
JAL was up 0.68 percent at 2,522 yen after the airline forecast a net loss of 146 billion yen ($1.28 billion) for the current financial year, citing Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Its rival ANA Holdings was up 2.41 percent at 2,766.5 yen.
Wall Street stocks finished at fresh records following a heavily telegraphed Federal Reserve decision to scale back its stimulus programme.
For the fourth straight day, all three major indices ended at all-time highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3 percent to 36,157.58.