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| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday, tracking US gains, with traders shrugging off uncertainty over the still-unresolved US presidential election and accepting the likelihood of divided control of the US Congress. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.69 percent or 163.79 points at 23,859.02 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.23 percent or 3.70 points to 1,630.95. "Japanese shares are seen rising supported by gains in the US market," where expectations grew that the Republicans will maintain a majority in the Senate, allaying fears Democrats will strengthen regulations, Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary. Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities, added the Japanese market could still take a turn "as the US presidential election has not seen a final result yet". The dollar fetched 104.43 yen in early Asian trade, against 104.50 yen in New York late Wednesday. In Tokyo, game giant Nintendo was up 2.93 percent at 58,340 yen ahead of its earnings report due later in the day. Small car specialist Suzuki Motor was up 0.36 percent at 4,683 yen, camera maker Nikon was down 2.43 percent at 643 yen, and brewer Asahi Group Holdings was down 1.81 percent at 3,317 yen, ahead of earnings from all three due later in the day. On Wall Street, the Dow climbed 1.3 percent to finish at 27,847.66, rising for a third straight session, while the tech-rich Nasdaq climbed 3.9 percent and the broader S&P gaining 2.2 percent. kh/sah/jah
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