Tokyo stocks fell to a four-month low on April 6 after Federal Reserve minutes suggested the US central bank was considering steps that could result in a further tightening of monetary policy. / AFP PHOTO /
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday with a weaker yen lifting car makers and other exporters as risk fears over last week’s US attack on Syria waned.
Geopolitical tensions spiked after US President Donald Trump ordered a cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base in retaliation for a deadly chemical weapons attack in the country blamed on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
“The US strikes were seen for what they probably are — a one-off warning at this stage to Syria’s President Assad to desist from using chemical weapons in the ongoing civil war,” said Ray Attrill, head of forex strategy at National Australia Bank.
“While Syria-related geopolitical tensions remain high, nothing has occurred as yet over the weekend to suggest these will be the main early-week market driver,” he said in a commentary.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.80 percent, or 149.44 points, to 18,814.07 in early trading, while the Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.74 percent, or 10.95 points, to 1,500.72.
The dollar fell against the yen last week on safe-haven buying of the Japanese currency amid uncertainty over the fallout from the attack.
But the greenback rebounded to trade at 111.42 yen on Monday, up from 111.07 yen in New York Friday afternoon and 110.12 yen in Tokyo earlier.
It had also earlier gained as traders bet a US jobs report, while disappointing, would not derail a plan by the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates again this year.
A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it inflates repatriated profits and spurs buying of their shares.
“The Syria news was bad for markets, but it’s not like something big is going to happen today, tomorrow,” Seiichi Miura, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities told Bloomberg News.
“And the yen has resumed weakening, allowing exporters to be bought.”
Toyota rose 1.13 to 5,898 yen while Nissan gained 1.08 to 1,021.5 yen.
Panasonic was up 0.47 percent to 1,261 yen and Canon rose 0.31 percent to 3,476 yen.
Toshiba, meanwhile, climbed 5.18 percent to 227.2 yen on the eve of the deadline to submit its long-overdue earnings report for the last quarter of 2016 after incurring massive losses from its US nuclear business.
Weekend reports said that the troubled industrial giant may sell its television business.
The Nikkei business daily and other media also reported that Japan’s industry ministry and Japanese companies were trying to cooperate to invest in Toshiba’s chip unit as they are worried about technology going abroad.
Toshiba is spinning off its prized semiconductor business to raise money for its revival.
© Agence France-Presse