Tokyo shares open higher on rising dollar

TOKYO – Tokyo shares opened higher on Tuesday, lifted by a strong dollar after a weak lead from Wall Street.

The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 1.51 percent, or 204.29 points, to 13,723.72 in the first minutes of trading.

Investors bought back Tokyo shares as the dollar rose to 97.30 yen in early trade, compared with 96.90 yen in New York Monday.

The euro was at $1.3292 and 129.31 yen, mixed from $1.3299 and 128.84 yen in New York.

US shares were largely flat, providing little incentive for players in Tokyo.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 5.83 points (0.04 percent) to 15,419.68.

The broad-based S&P 500 gave up 1.95 points (0.12 percent) at 1,689.47, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9.84 points (0.27 percent) to 3,669.95.

“Until the (summer) holiday season finishes, market energy is going to stay somewhat lethargic,” SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi told Dow Jones Newswires.

He expected the headline index to hover between 13,550 and 13,750.

Nishi said Tokyo shares were looking attractive, particularly after recent sharp falls.

The Nikkei dropped 5.88 percent last week and gave up 0.70 percent on Monday.

“Technically,” Nishi said, “stocks are in the ‘buy zone’ after recent falls below support levels.”