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| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday despite a mixed performance on US markets, with Japanese exporters boosted by a cheaper yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.04 percent or 259.35 points at 25,164.94 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 1.16 percent or 19.80 points to 1,720.60. "Although US stocks were mixed, Japanese shares are supported by a cheap yen against the dollar," Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a statement. The dollar fetched 105.28 yen in early Asian trade, against 105.31 yen in New York and 105.00 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday. US shares pulled back from the celebrations that followed news from Pfizer and BioNTech that their Covid-19 candidate vaccine was 90 percent effective, ending Tuesday's session mixed. Optimism about Monday's announcement was tempered by the realisation that economic gains will likely not be felt until late next year, given the time needed for a vaccine to be widely distributed. Meanwhile, investors were shifting away from "stay-at-home" stocks like tech and gaming, and returning to "back-to-normal" shares like airlines and cruise companies. Among major shares in Tokyo, Toyota was up 2.20 percent at 7,427 yen and Panasonic was up 1.83 percent at 1,054.5 yen. Airline ANA Holdings was up 1.24 percent at 2,693 yen, while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was up 1.85 percent at 78,260 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.9 percent at 29,420.92, while the broader S&P 500 was down 0.1 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq closed down 1.4 percent. kh/kaf/jah
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