Tokyo shares open higher after US rally following FOMC

TOKYO: Tokyo shares opened 0.16 percent higher Thursday following rallies overnight on Wall Street, after the Federal Reserve kept its ultra-low interest rate policy.

The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened up 24.55 points at 15,140.35.The Tokyo bourse was trailing New York, where the S&P 500 jumped to another record close, surging 14.99 points (0.77 percent) to 1,956.98.

The Fed, as expected, reiterated its policy of tapering stimulus while keeping monetary policy "highly accommodative".

FRB Chair Janet Yellen downplayed recent data that shows accelerating, but still tame, inflation, and characterised unemployment as still too high.

Masayuki Doshida, senior market analyst at Rakuten Securities, said the comment came within the market´s expectations.

"The Fed´s comments were not out of line with market sentiment, especially as reflected in the longer term interest rate picture," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

Doshida added that the Tokyo bourse was likely to remain in a narrow range as the dollar eased against the yen following the FRB decision.

The greenback Wednesday weakened against other major currencies after the US central bank did not accelerate the time-frame for raising interest rates.

The dollar stood at 101.90 yen, nearly flat from 101.91 in New York Wednesday but lower from 102.17 yen in Tokyo Wednesday morning.

The euro was $1.3594 and 138.50 yen, nearly flat from $1.3593 and 138.52 yen in New York.