TOKYO: Tokyo shares opened slightly higher on Monday as the dollar edged up against the yen.
The dollar firmed following comments from Federal Reserve Bnk of San Francisco president John Williams that he would support one interest rate increase in 2016 and a few more next year.
The greenback inched up to 103.89 yen early Monday from 103.75 yen in Asia on Friday. A weaker yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it boosts their profitability.
Currency rates hardly moved after Japanese official data showed the world’s third largest economy posted a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in September.
Investors were waiting for corporate results as Japan’s earnings season gets into full swing this week.
“Corporate earnings are starting to look like they aren’t as bad as previously thought,” said Mitsuo Shimizu, a deputy general manager at Japan Asia Securities Group Ltd.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.13 percent, or 22.42 points, to 17,207.01 in the first few minutes of trading while the Topix index of all first-section was up 0.09 percent, or 1.22 points, to 1,366.51.
Shares in Nintendo fell 3.53 percent to 24,295 yen, losing further ground after Friday’s 6.54 percent drop as the game giant gave a sneak peek at its long-awaited new console.
The drop came despite a report Monday in the Nikkei business daily that the company’s April-September net profit is likely to have made a 2.6-fold jump largely thanks to the sale of a stake in the Seattle Mariners professional baseball team.
Shares in Sharp rose 4.81 percent to 174 yen after a weekend report in the Nikkei that it was eyeing streamlining domestic production including the closure of a factory in western Japan.
The electronics maker is under rehabilitation under Taiwanese tech giant Hon Hai.
