TOKYO: Stocks opened flat in Tokyo on Friday as investors took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of key US jobs data and a long weekend in Japan.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index inched up 0.77 points to 22,418.92 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 1.33 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,551.21.
“Even though the Japanese market is supported by US rallies, trade is seen moving in a narrow range as investors tend to take to the sidelines ahead of a three-day weekend and July US jobs data” due later Friday, Mizuho Securities said in a note.
Wall Street stocks pushed higher on hopes of fresh stimulus from Washington, with the tech-rich Nasdaq leading the major US indices, finishing at its fourth straight all-time record to close above 11,000 points for the first time.
The dollar fetched 105.54 yen in early Asian trade, against 105.52 yen in New York late Thursday.
In Tokyo, Nintendo was up 4.08 percent at 51,200 yen after it said it made a bumper $1 billion net profit in the first quarter, with gamers stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic driving extraordinary demand for the industry.
Shiseido was down 9.23 percent at 5,504 yen after the cosmetics firm issued a full-year net loss forecast.
Z Holdings, the parent of Yahoo Japan, was down 0.62 percent at 641 yen after the firm said an error in the registration system for “Yahoo ID” personal identifications for online services had caused problems in some users’ data.
A survey released by Japan’s internal affairs ministry early Friday showed June household spending in the world’s third-largest economy fell 1.2 percent year on year, after a 16.2 percent plunge in May.
The latest data was much better than market consensus of a 7.8 percent decline.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.7 percent at 27,386.98. – AFP
