Tokyo Stocks Open Flat

AFP/APP

Tokyo:Tokyo stocks opened flat on Wednesday after shares on Wall Street ended mixed.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.03 percent, or 12.52 points, at 38,867.89 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.05 percent, or 1.33 points, at 2,767.17.

“Japanese chip-linked shares are expected to rise following rallies in US semiconductor shares, while a rise in US yields is prompting worries that yields in Japan may also rise, which could weigh on the market,” Tokai Tokyo Research Institute said.

Overnight, Wall Street had a mixed day as investors returned from the three-day Memorial Day weekend.

The Nasdaq climbed to a fresh record Monday following more gains by chip giant Nvidia while the Dow was pressured by a rise in US Treasury yields.

Globally, investors will look to the Friday release of the US personal consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation.

The dollar fetched 157.33 yen in Asian trade, against 157.14 yen in New York.

In Tokyo, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was up 1.83 percent at 5,720 yen while chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron was up 0.56 percent at 35,700 yen.

SoftBank Group was up 3.49 percent at 9,026 yen. Hitachi was up 0.94 percent at 16,095 yen.

Oil retailer Idemitsu Kkosan was up 1.60 percent at 1,046 yen.

But Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing was down 0.59 percent at 40,650 yen and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was off 3.17 percent at 1,314 yen.