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Tokyo stocks end morning with gains

AFP

Tokyo stocks ended the morning session slightly higher Wednesday as bargain hunting overshadowed a stronger yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which opened in negative territory, edged up 0.11 percent, or 21.58 points, to 20,021.49 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.17 percent, or 2.72 points, to 1,623.20.

The Nikkei "returned to positive territory which suggests a strong bargain-hunting trend," Okasan Online Securities strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.

"You can call it the run-up to trading on expectations for earnings (reports)," he said.

Earnings announcements for major Japanese companies for the April-June quarter are scheduled in coming weeks.

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The dollar was slightly weaker against the Japanese currency in Asia at 112.01 yen, compared with 112.03 yen in New York on Tuesday and 112.08 yen in Tokyo on Tuesday.

A stronger yen makes Japanese products more expensive overseas and tends to weigh on exporters.

Mitsushige Akino, an executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, said the inability of the US Congress to make headway on President Donald Trump's legislative agenda is a factor behind the lower US Treasury yields that dented the greenback.

"Weakness in the US economy is leading to a decline in long-term yields, as is a stagnation in US economic policy," Akino told Bloomberg News.

"With long-term yields not rising, it's difficult to buy value stocks" such as banks, he said.

Banks were mixed with Mitsubishi UFJ losing 0.30 percent to 719.4 yen, though rival SMFG rose 0.04 percent to 4,270 yen.

Telecom giant Softbank was up 0.92 percent at 9,229 yen and market heavyweight Fast Retailing gained 0.15 percent to 33,930 yen.

Toyota was down 0.79 percent at 6,131 yen and Honda fell 0.38 percent to 3,084 yen.

Semiconductor-linked shares were mixed after the Nasdaq rose to a record high in the US, with Renesas Electronics gaining 0.68 percent to 1,023 yen, while chip-testing device maker Tokyo Electron declined 0.15 percent to 16,015 yen.