TOKYO: Tokyo s Nikkei 225 index edged higher Monday morning, shrugging off losses on Wall Street and a pick-up in the yen against the dollar.
The benchmark Nikkei at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which on Friday ended above 19,000 points for the first time in 15 years, added 0.20 percent, or 37.70 points, to 19,291.95 by the break.
The broader Topix index of all first section shares was flat, dipping 0.16 points to 1,560.17.
Tokyo moved in and out of negative territory in the morning session after New York dropped on renewed concerns over falling oil prices and the impact of a stronger dollar on US firms.
Investors are now keeping their focus on the outcome of the Federal Reserve s policy meeting this week, hoping it will give a clearer timeline for when it will lift interest rates as the US economy picks up strength.
“We re seeing some technical overbuying,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities.”US stocks are looking weak, and we ll probably see some adjustments today (in Tokyo).”
Investors are also keeping an eye on the start of a BoJ meeting, which wraps up Tuesday, although few expect Japanese policymakers to announce fresh measures until later this year.
