Tokyo shares rally ahead of BoJ, Nintendo dives

Tokyo shares rallied in early trade Thursday as investors awaited the outcome of a Bank of Japan meeting, but Nintendo dived after the videogame giant posted disappointing financial results.

Shortly before markets opened, Japan published a slate of weak data -- including the biggest drop in inflation for three years -- in a worrying sign for the country's soft economy.

The data will turn up the heat on the BoJ to launch fresh stimulus to prop up Tokyo's faltering bid to kickstart growth. Their decision is likely to come around midday.

"The market is expecting the BoJ to increase its asset purchases," Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.07 percent, or 185.25 points, to 17,475.74 in early deals, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.91 percent, or 12.57 points, to 1,396.87.

But Nintendo tumbled more than eight percent to 15,160 yen following its announcement after markets closed Wednesday that net profit in the fiscal year through March was down 60 percent from a year earlier, while sales also fell.

The Kyoto-based videogame giant, which said its profits this business year would be weaker than market expectations, said the fall was mainly due to stronger yen, which shrinks the value of Japanese exporters' overseas profits.

Among the firms reporting earnings later Thursday are Sony, Panasonic, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.

On currency markets, the dollar rose to 111.53 yen from 111.47 yen Wednesday in New York.

On Wall Street, US stocks finished broadly higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signalled that it was less worried about global economic conditions than in March as it kept key interest rates unchanged.

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