Tokyo stocks up by break on FBI Clinton announcement

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks rose on Monday morning after the FBI said market-favourite Hillary Clinton would not face criminal charges over her use of a private email server, easing worries over her US presidential bid.

FBI Director James Comey left unchanged his July recommendation that the Democratic nominee not be prosecuted for putting US secrets at risk while serving as secretary of state.

His announcement last month that the FBI was checking newly discovered emails had cast a cloud over the Clinton campaign in the run-up to Tuesday's election, while energising that of Republican rival Donald Trump.

Financial markets, which fear the uncertainty surrounding a possible Trump victory, were thrown into turmoil last week by the news.

But they recovered their footing on Monday.

"'President Trump risk' has receded, and market sentiment is getting back to normal," said Toshiyuki Kanayama, a Tokyo-based senior market analyst at Monex.

"With expectations of increased support for her (Clinton), it'll be easier for investors to buy stocks," he told Bloomberg News.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 230.04 points, to 17 135.40 by the break while the broader Topix index was up 14.64 points, at 1 361.68.

The dollar soared to ¥104.21 from ¥103.04 in New York on Friday, as investors pushed into higher risk assets.

The yen tends to be bought as a safe bet in times of uncertainty.

"US political uncertainty ahead of Tuesday's presidential elections will continue to generate dollar volatility as most swing-state polls suggest the election outcome will be a close call," said Elias Haddad, a senior currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

Carmakers rose on the weaker yen, which boosts exporters' profitability. Toyota gained 1.80% to sit at ¥5 801 while rival Nissan was up 2.12% at ¥1 033.

Nissan reports its financial results after markets close on Monday.

Financial stocks also rose, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group jumping 3.02% to ¥535.1 and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group up 2.14% at ¥3 573.