- Tokyo stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors kept a bullish outlook with Japan preparing to start coronavirus vaccinations.
- Japan is set to start giving Pfizer/BioNTech shots to 10 000 to 20 000 medical workers from Wednesday after the vaccine was approved by the health ministry on Sunday.
- Minister Taro Kono, who is in charge of vaccinations, is scheduled to hold a presser about the details of the rollout later on Tuesday.
Tokyo stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors kept a bullish outlook with Japan preparing to start coronavirus vaccinations, fuelling hopes for economic normalisation.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 1.28%, or 383.60 points, to end at 30 467.75, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.57%, or 11.14 points, to 1 965.08.
The Nikkei on Monday had closed above 30 000 for the first time since 1990.
"There are some concerns on the upward trend, but (Tokyo shares) are likely to go higher as details about vaccination are revealed," Rikiya Takebe, senior strategist at Okasan Online Securities.
Japan is set to start giving Pfizer/BioNTech shots to 10 000 to 20 000 medical workers from Wednesday after the vaccine was approved by the health ministry on Sunday.
Minister Taro Kono, who is in charge of vaccinations, is scheduled to hold a presser about the details of the rollout later on Tuesday.
The dollar fetched 105.39 yen, nearly flat from 105.35 yen in London overnight.
US markets were closed for Presidents Day.
In Tokyo trading, market heavyweight SoftBank Group jumped 4.14% to 10 420 yen, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing rose 3.05% to 102 500 yen.
Sony climbed 2.25% to 12 240 yen.
Toyota dropped 1.80% to 8 303 yen while its rival Honda was up 0.29% to 3 061 yen. Nissan fell 1.21% to 602.5 yen.