Tokyo stocks opened modestly higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, with their upside capped as investors remained cautious before the release of U.S. retail sales and other economic data later in the day.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 35.70 points, or 0.13 percent, from Wednesday to 27,854.32. The broader Topix index was up 1.80 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,949.26.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by air transportation, mining, and land transportation issues.
At 9 a.m., the U.S. dollar fetched 142.91-94 yen compared with 143.12-22 yen in New York and 143.30-33 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The euro was quoted at $0.9982-9983 and 142.65-70 yen against $0.9973-9983 and 142.79-89 yen in New York and $0.9986-9988 and 143.11-15 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday afternoon.
