TOKYO, Aug 12, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Tokyo stocks opened higher Friday, rebounding 
following gains on Wall Street after US economic data showed inflation may be 
slowing.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.44 percent, or 401.72 points, to 
28,221.05 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 1.07 percent, or 
20.66 points, to 1,954.31.

The dollar fetched 133.16 yen, against 133.05 yen in New York on Thursday.

The Japanese market will likely develop "solid" gains on Friday, Okasan 
Online Securities said, in part because concerns are receding over inflation 
in the United States, which some investors had feared could trigger a global 
recession.

The data showed that US wholesale prices cooled sharply in July, with a steep 
0.5 percent drop compared to June, raising hopes of less aggressive Federal 
Reserve monetary policy.

It came on the heels of Wednesday's report showing the annual US consumer 
price index eased to 8.5 percent in July from a 40-year high of 9.1 percent 
the previous month.

In Tokyo, SoftBank Group surged 3.44 percent to 5,498 yen after the 
investment behemoth announced Wednesday that it expects to report a gain of 
about $34 billion by relinquishing a portion of its stake in e-commerce giant 
Alibaba.

Toyota, meanwhile, climbed 1.26 percent to 2,114.5 yen and Sony Group jumped 
1.65 percent to 11,395 yen, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing gained 1.57 
percent to 84,080 yen.