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Tokyo shares open higher ahead of holidays
TOKYO, Dec 29, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo shares opened higher Friday in the final trading session of the year, tracking fresh record highs on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.19 percent or 43.61 points to 22,827.59 in the first minutes of trading while the broader Topix index edged up 0.17 percent or 3.13 points to 1,822.16.
In New York, most of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced in a quiet session, the latest record following dozens of earlier all-time highs in US equities this year.
Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary that Japanese stocks on the final trading day “will remain steady… although the trading will be thin with many investors already on year-end holidays.”
The Tokyo markets will not resume trading until Thursday.
In Tokyo share trading, SoftBank rose 0.76 percent to 8,998 yen after the telecom giant struck a deal with Uber to take a large stake in the US ridesharing giant.
SoftBank will own 15 percent of Uber’s equity by acquiring shares from early investors, according to a source familiar with the terms of the deal.
Sony was up 0.10 percent to 5,097 yen while Uniqlo chain operator Fast Retailing edged down 0.04 percent to 44,970 yen.
Canon was down 0.14 percent to 4,219 yen while Panasonic rose 0.33 percent to 1,652.5 yen.
The dollar stood at 112.94 yen early Friday, slightly up from 112.85 in New York and 112.80 yen in Tokyo late Thursday.
BSS/AFP/MMA/0955HRS