Tokyo stocks up at break as weak yen buoys exporters

Tokyo: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday with investor sentiment boosted by the yen's drop to near eight-month lows against the dollar.

The dollar's surge past 112 yen on Wednesday in New York was driven by growing expectations that higher fiscal spending under Donald Trump's administration will lead to further US interest rate hikes.

Upbeat data on US durable goods orders released Wednesday also fuelled anticipation for higher rates.

"Expectations for new economic policies from Trump are strong and when on top of this comes a piece of positive data, investors will be inclined to make a move," Mitsushige Akino, an executive officer at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co, told Bloomberg News.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.99 per cent, or 179.95 points, to 18,342.89 in the first few minutes of trading while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.91 per cent, or 13.12 points, at 1,460.62.

The dollar was trading at 112.59 yen on Thursday, higher than 112.48 yen in New York on Wednesday afternoon and sharply up from 110.84 yen in Asia on Tuesday before Tokyo closed for a holiday on Wednesday.

During New York trading the greenback hit 112.97 yen, its highest level since the end of March. Exporters rose on the weaker yen, which boosts their profitability.

Toyota climbed 3.10 per cent to 6,482 yen and Nintendo added 1.38 per cent to 28,240 yen. On Wall Street, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and broad-based S&P 500 both edged to fresh record closes for the third straight session.