Tokyo - Tokyo stocks rose on the back of a rally on global markets in early trade on Wednesday, with automakers including Toyota and Honda rebounding from the previous session's sharp losses.
Investors are now awaiting a closely watched speech by Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen at the Jackson Hole symposium of global central bankers Friday, hoping she will shine some light on the near-term direction of US monetary policy.
"Oil prices are recovering, and the environment is fairly calm. I expect Japanese shares to do relatively well," Chihiro Ohta, a senior strategist with SMBC Nikko Securities, told Bloomberg news.
"That said, we're all about waiting for Jackson Hole now."
About 30 minutes after the opening bell, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 139.17 points, to 16 636.53, rebounding from a drop the previous day.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares rose 11.91 points, to 1 309.47.
In forex markets, the dollar rose to ¥100.44 from ¥100.23 on Tuesday in New York.
A weaker yen is a plus for Japan's exporters as it boosts their overseas profitability.
In early Tokyo share trading, Toyota surged 1.9%, Nissan advanced 2.7% and Honda tacked on 1.6%. Mazda was also up, rising 2.8%.
On Wall Street, major indices gained in cautious trade on Tuesday with the Dow closing 0.1% higher, the broad-based S&P 500 up 0.2 and the tech-rich Nasdaq adding 0.3%.
In Europe, Frankfurt, London and Paris were also up.
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