Tokyo stocks opened higher on January 26 after the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 20,000 points for the first time on hopes for US President Donald Trump’s pro-growth economic policies.
/ AFP PHOTO /
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks rose Thursday morning after the Dow topped 20,000 points for the first time on hopes US President Donald Trump’s economic plans will ramp up growth.
The surge was the latest sign that investors are brushing aside worries about Trump’s bent towards trade protectionism and instead betting that the White House and Republican Congress will usher in tax cuts, spend big on infrastructure and slash red tape.
“The US economy is doing well, corporate earnings are good and it looks like Mr Trump’s policies will keep improving the economy,” Mitsushige Akino, an executive officer at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, told Bloomberg News.
The Dow, the benchmark US stock index, shot above 20,000 on Wednesday to close at 20,068.51, up 0.8 percent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also posted record highs.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.44 percent, or 275.34 points, to 19,332.84 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 1.28 percent, or 19.53 points, at 1,541.11.
Toshiba lost early gains, slipping 0.15 percent to 254 yen after news reports that the troubled conglomerate was seeking to sell a nearly 20 percent equity stake its chip operations.
The firm is widely expected to decide on the spin-off of its business at a board meeting Friday.
US microchip maker Micron Technology may invest in the operation as well as copier maker Canon and investment funds, Japan’s Nikkei business daily said.
Takata went untraded as buy orders overwhelmed sell orders. The previous day the the embattled airbag maker surged 18 percent after denied it would enter into a potentially lengthy court-mediated bankruptcy restructuring.
Toyota was up 0.71 percent to sit at 6,754 yen and Nissan rose 1.36 percent at 1,149.5 yen, while Sony also climbed 1.62 percent to 3,501 yen.
The dollar was at 113.40 yen compared with 113.24 yen in New York.
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