Publications
Partners
Tokyo - Tokyo shares edged up on Wednesday morning lifted by a weaker yen but nervous investors are keeping an eye on a key meeting of top oil producers later in the day.
The Japanese market picked up a positive lead from Wall Street where US rallied on stronger-than-expected third quarter growth, higher housing prices and a sharp rebound in consumer confidence.
The figures boosted the dollar against the yen, supporting Japanese exporters.
"Good data coming out of the US is positive for Japanese stocks," said Chihiro Ohta, a senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.
"When the US economy is doing well, it’s a tailwind for Japanese exporters," he told Bloomberg News.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 22.87 points, to 18 329.91 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 2.81 points, at 1 471.38.
The dollar was changing hands at ¥112.39 in early trade, barely moved against its New York close but well up from ¥111.99 in Asia on Tuesday.
Investors are now waiting for developments at a Vienna meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) later on Wednesday.
Players are waiting to see if the cartel can agree to reduce output, which would push prices up and reverse a long-running squeeze on producers.
Uncertainty over the chances of a deal being made have fuelled volatility in oil markets, with both main contracts plunging 4% on Tuesday and struggling to recover in Asia.
"We have a lot of events coming up so this week," said Shoichi Arisawa, an equity analyst with Iwai Cosmo Securities.
"There's the Opec meeting, the US jobs report, the Italian (constitutional referendum) this weekend, and there's a strong sense of wait-and-see."
The monthly US jobs figures are closely watched by investors, who are looking for a clue on how fast the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy.
Honda climbed 2.08% to ¥3 376 and Panasonic jumped 3.08% to ¥1 171.
Oil explorer Japan Petroleum was down 1.45% at ¥2 371 and petroleum refiner Idemitsu lost 1.03% to sit at ¥2 585.
Nintendo gained 0.12% to ¥28 025 after it announced a tie-up with Universal Parks and Resorts to create attractions featuring its video game characters at existing theme parks.
