Tokyo stocks edged higher Wednesday morning as players picked up oversold issues following initial losses. The dollar was down against the Japanese yen and the euro in early trading.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues gained 57.04 points, or 0.48 percent, to 11,943.95 points at the end of morning trade. The index lost 38.45 points, or 0.32 percent, on Tuesday after gaining 380.18 points, or 3.31 percent, over the previous eight sessions.
dollar was trading at 104.66 yen at 11 a.m. Wednesday, down 0.35 yen from late Tuesday in Tokyo and below the 104.68 yen it bought in New York later that day.
Stocks rose from their weaker start as investors picked up heavily sold issues. Tokyo stocks opened lower after Wall Street fell on Tuesday.
The broader TOPIX, which includes all issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, added 4.38 points, or 0.37 percent, to end morning trade at 1,199.77. The TOPIX shed 4.44 points, or 0.37 percent, the day before.
U.S. stocks fell moderately Tuesday due to higher oil prices and a disappointing earnings update from Texas Instruments Inc.
Light crude settled at $54.59 a barrel, up 70 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange after briefly topping $55 for the first time in more than four months.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 24.24 points, or 0.22 percent, to 10,912.62, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 16.66 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,073.55.
In currencies, the dollar remained lower against the yen and the euro Tuesday in New York, where players focused their attention on the U.S. current account deficit ahead of Friday's trade data.
The euro rose to $1.3344 Wednesday morning in Tokyo from $1.3242 late Tuesday and to 139.68 yen from 138.98 yen.
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