Tokyo opens higher on Wall St gains


Sony has recovered sharply Thursday to be up about 3.6 percent

TOKYO, Japan -- Japanese stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, with the market buoyed by the modest rebound on Wall Street Wednesday.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 average rose 70.93 points, or 0.69 percent, to 10,366.95 at the open. On Wednesday, the Nikkei had put on 0.44 percent.

The broader capital-weighted Topix index rose 8.17 points, or 0.83 percent, to 996.27. The day before, the Topix had gained 0.36 percent.

Other markets in the region also were higher, with Australia's S&P/ASX200 recovering about half the ground it lost Wednesday.

South Korea, returning from a holiday Wednesday, is about 0.4 percent higher in early trade, with the Kospi at 777.14.

Taiwan is up about 1 percent and Singapore's Straits Times index is slightly firmer at about 1585.

Sony recovers


Toyota and other automakers are also firmer in early Tokyo trade

In Tokyo, gains are across the board. Consumers electronics giant Sony, which tumbled on Wednesday, is up 3.6 percent to 5760 yen.

Other technology leaders such as Fujitsu, Hitachi, Toshiba and NEC are also higher.

Automakers, which have been taking a hit from the stronger yen, are recovering too. Honda is up 3.5 percent, Nissan is up more than 4 percent and market leader Toyota is 3.28 percent higher at 2995 yen.

The leading mobile phone company, NTT DoCoMo is almost 4 percent higher at 263,000 yen.

Big banks are stronger, led by Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, which has surged 3.3 percent to 845,000 yen.

Taking cue from Wall Street

The Japanese market is taking its cue from the gains on Wall Street, which saw its first winning session in nearly two weeks on Wednesday.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 69.37 points to 8,542.48. The Nasdaq composite index closed at 1,397.25, up 21.99.

In Australia bluechips are broadly stronger, with gains by banks, resources stocks and large caps such as News Corp and Telstra.

South Korean technology leaders such as Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom are up, as is steelmaker Posco.

On the currency front, the dollar bought 116.42 yen in early Tokyo trade Thursday, slightly above its late New York level of 116.27 yen overnight.