Tokyo stocks rose slightly Tuesday morning, as technology stocks tracked gains in their U.S. counterparts and some major insurance firms were bought after releasing favorable earnings results.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 66.23 points, or 0.17 percent, from Monday to 39,135.91. The broader Topix index was up 4.53 points, or 0.16 percent, at 2,772.57.
The yield on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond briefly climbed 0.005 percentage point from Monday's close to 0.980 percent to hit a fresh 11-year high, tracking an overnight rise in long-term U.S. Treasury yields.
The U.S. dollar was firm, mostly in the mid-156 yen range in Tokyo, after some Federal Reserve officials expressed caution about cutting interest rates amid signs of persistent inflation, fueling the prospect that the U.S.-Japan interest rate gap could remain wide for longer.
At noon, the dollar fetched 156.43-44 yen compared with 156.22-32 yen in New York and 155.73-74 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0853-0857 and 169.77-85 yen against $1.0852-0862 and 169.64-74 yen in New York and $1.0872-0874 and 169.32-36 yen in Tokyo late Monday afternoon.
Stocks were supported by buying of heavyweight technology issues after the U.S. Nasdaq index closed at a new high overnight.
Among insurance firms, MS & AD Insurance Group Holdings soared 15.3 percent after reporting robust earnings Monday and a plan to buy back shares to improve shareholder returns, analysts said.
But stocks gave up most of their early advances amid a lack of further buying incentives and investors moving to lock in gains, analysts said.
