Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to remain in office despite the ruling coalition’s failure to maintain its majority in the House of Councillors election. This commitment helped alleviate political uncertainty concerns, Kyodo News reported.
Within the first 15 minutes of trading, the Nikkei Stock Average, comprising 225 major issues, surged 442.70 points (1.11%) from Friday’s close to 40,261.81. The broader Topix index gained 27.91 points (0.98%) to reach 2,862.39.
Japanese financial markets were closed Monday for a national holiday. On the Prime Market, the main equities segment, gains were led by non-ferrous metal, gas, and machinery stocks. At 9:00 a.m. local time, the U.S. dollar traded at 147.40-42 yen, compared to 147.30-40 yen in New York at 5:00 p.m. Monday. The euro stood at 1.1694-1695 dollars and 172.37-41 yen, versus 1.1693-1703 dollars and 172.28-38 yen in New York late Monday afternoon.