Tokyo stocks rose Tuesday morning, led by buying of semiconductor-related shares following record-high closes on Wall Street overnight.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 117.00 points, or 0.30 percent, from Monday to 39,155.16. The broader Topix index was up 5.78 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,788.27.
The U.S. dollar was firm in the lower 157 yen range in Tokyo as traders bought the currency on prospects that the interest rate differential between Japan and the United States will remain wide after an overnight rise in long-term Treasury yields.
At noon, the dollar fetched 157.29-30 yen compared with 156.99-157.09 yen in New York and 156.99-157.01 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0766-0770 and 169.34-41 yen against $1.0761-0771 and 168.92-169.02 yen in New York, and $1.0764-0765 and 168.99-169.03 yen in Tokyo late Monday afternoon.
Stocks were in positive territory throughout the morning as heavyweight semiconductor shares lifted the market after the U.S. Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes closed at record highs overnight.
Energy-related shares also drew buying after the benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures contract for July ended Monday up almost 3 percent from late last week on expectations of solid global oil demand, analysts said.
But the stock market was top-heavy as a wait-and-see mood prevailed ahead of meetings later in the week of the U.S. and Japanese central banks, brokers said.
