Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday following global rallies the previous day, as Wall Street notched fresh records with US tax cuts in sight.
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.29 percent, or 67.25 points, to 22,969.02 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.19 percent, or 3.37 points, at 1,821.27.
“The Tokyo market has taken over a positive lead from global rallies, although buying sentiment is not so strong,” Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities, told reporters.
Global stocks gained ground Monday as a massive US tax cut plan neared final passage, lifting Wall Street to fresh records and boosting international markets, reports BSS.
Wall Street has grown increasingly giddy this month as obstacles to the massive tax cut package have been overcome and momentum builds for a measure that is expected to be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk by the end of the year. The House is expected to vote Tuesday afternoon.
All three major US equity indices marked records for the second session in a row, with the Nasdaq breaching 7,000 for the first time during the session before finishing a bit below that mark.
“But once the tax cut is settled, selling pressure may emerge,” Daiwa’s Sato said.
Major contractors continued to slide after investigators raided them over a bid-rigging scandal on the nation’s maglev train project. Kajima dropped 4.26 percent to 1,077 yen as Obayashi lost 1.66 percent to 1,357 yen.
Toyota rose 0.64 percent to 7,208 yen after unveiling plans to invest $13.3 billion by 2030 in boosting production of electric vehicles.
Panasonic rose 0.20 percent to 1,678 yen but Sony lost 0.65 percent to 5,127 yen. The dollar traded at 112.60 yen, compared with 112.56 yen in New York late Monday.
