Tokyo stocks open higher

AFP :
Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday after Wall Street gains, with investors watching an appearance in parliament by Bank of Japan chief nominee Kazuo Ueda.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.22 percent, or 58.40 points, at 27,162.72 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.12 percent, or 2.43 points, to 1,977.68.
Japanese shares were supported by rallies in US stocks, while Ueda’s appearance in the lower house of the parliament “might move the market,”
Monex senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama said in a note. The dollar fetched 134.56 yen in early Asian trade, against 134.70 yen in New York late Thursday. Overnight, Wall Street stocks finished higher, following solid results from chip company Nvidia that boosted tech shares.
Equities have been under pressure due to anxiety that the US Federal Reserve will prolong a period of aggressive interest rate hikes. “Equity markets remain edgy amid an uncertain economic and central bank outlook,” Rodrigo Catril, senior analyst of National Australia Bank, said in a note.
US Commerce Department data showed the world’s largest economy grew in the last quarter of 2022 at a rate of 2.7 percent, annualised, lower than the 2.9 percent increase originally reported.