Tokyo stocks open higher, yen weakens again

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday after US tech shares gained, while the yen weakened against the dollar.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.65 percent, or 257.37 points, at 39,700.00 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.50 percent, or 13.77 points, to 2,760.73.

“The Japanese market is expected to start with gains led by rallies in US tech shares,” Monex senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama said.

The dollar fetched 153.13 yen in early Asian trade, against 153.25 yen in New York. The greenback earlier hit 153.33 yen, another 34-year low for the Japanese currency, after forecast-topping US inflation dealt a blow to hopes for a June interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

Overnight, the blue-chip Dow ended flat and the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.7 percent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.7 percent.

In Tokyo, Fast Retailing was down 4.06 percent at 42,310 yen after its second-quarter operating profit missed analyst expectations.

Fujifilm was up 2.64 percent at 3,462 yen after the company announced an additional investment of $1.2 billion in a planned biotech plant in North Carolina.

Real estate firms were higher, with Mitsui Fudosan up 6.53 percent at 1,655 yen and Sumitomo Realty & Development up 6.04 percent at 5,947 yen.

Sony Group was up 1.52 percent at 13,050 yen. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was up 0.89 percent at 6,018 yen.