Tokyo stocks open higher in cautious trade

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday in cautious trade following a mixed close on Wall Street, with investors awaiting fresh market-moving events.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.18 per cent or 51.88 points at 29,118.06 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.32 per cent or 6.26 points to 1,968.91.

"Japanese shares are seen moving in a narrow range after a mixed close in the US market," senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama said in a commentary.

Ray Attrill, senior strategist at National Australia Bank, noted that US President Joe Biden had walked back a threat over a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

As "one of the catalysts for US equities achieving new record highs last week was the news of... the handshake deal," Biden's apparent threat could "be one source of market volatility in the week ahead," he added.

Investors are awaiting fresh clues for trade, including US ISM manufacturing purchasing managers index and US payrolls data due later this week, analysts said.

In Tokyo, Toshiba was up 1.25 per cent at 4,874 yen after its shareholders voted to oust the board's chairman in the latest twist for the company after scandals and losses, and a rare victory for activist investors in corporate Japan.

Shionogi was up 1.16 per cent at 5,772 yen after a report said the pharmaceutical firm is planning to double production of its yet-to-be-approved vaccines to some 60 million doses next year from its previous estimate.

Among other major shares, Hitachi was up 1.56 per cent at 6,511 yen, Nippon Steel was up 1.96 per cent at 1,947 yen, and construction machine maker Komatsu was up 1.08 per cent at 2,856 yen.

The dollar fetched 110.74 yen in early Asian trade against 110.79 yen in New York late Friday.