Tokyo stocks up in early trade despite global

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose early Wednesday in thin trade, snapping two sessions of decline despite a negative lead from global financial markets.On Wall Street, all three major indices moved off record highs Tuesday after senior US central banker William Dudley suggested an interest rate hike could possibly come as early as next month.The greenback rose to 100.42 yen from 100.30 yen in New York, after briefly touching as low as 99.54 yen in overnight trading, falling under the 100 level for only the second time this year.But the dollar’s position remained largely unaffected by Dudley’s remarks. “Considering how much the yen has strengthened, Japanese shares are showing resilience,” Chihiro Ohta, a senior strategist with SMBC Nikko Securities, told Bloomberg News.”However, there aren’t any reasons to actively buy Japanese stocks right now.”About 30 minutes after the opening bell, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.48 percent, or 79.27 points, to 16,675.78, rebounding after ending two sessions in the red.The broader Topix index of all first-section shares advanced 0.39 percent, or 5.03 points, to 1,303.50.Trading was thin with many investors away for Japan’s week-long, though unofficial, Obon holiday.In early share trading, Toyota tacked on 1.60 percent to 5,969 yen, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, jumped 1.36 percent to 37,000 yen.Among other gainers, energy explorer Inpex soared nearly four percent to 870.3 yen and refiner JX Holdings added about one percent to 381.2 yen.On Wall Street on Tuesday, the Dow ended down 0.5 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.6 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq lost 0.7 percent.