Tokyo stocks rise

Tokyo shares rose 0.69 per cent on Thursday morning following gains on Wall Street after US Federal Reserve minutes showed no support for an early rise in interest rates. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 98.50 points to 14,398.19 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 0.71 percent, or 8.15 points, to 1,158.59. Shortly before the market opened, the Japanese government said the nation's core machinery orders fell 8.8 percent in February from the previous month. The data -- a key measure of future capital spending -- indicated that businesses were expecting economic growth to remain tepid for most of the year following a sales tax increase at the beginning of April. But investors shrugged off the weak data and picked up Tokyo stocks, which were seen on-course for a natural rebound following recent losses, dealers said. Sony rose 0.10 percent to 1,897 yen, Canon was up 0.92 percent at 3,166 yen and Japan Airlines jumped 2.22 percent to 5,050 yen. Toyota turned down 1.68 percent to 5,358 yen, extending the previous day's losses after it recalled 6.39 million vehicles globally over a string of problems, dealing another blow to its reputation for quality and safety, according to AFP.