Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday, shrugging off a stronger yen as investor sentiment improved with the three key US markets closing higher overnight.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.16 percent, or 33.26 points to 21,277.94 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.26 percent or 4.48 points at 1,721.26.

Wall street stocks finished higher Tuesday, rising for a third straight session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.2 percent at 24,640.45.

“The Dow's rise for the third straight day is supporting Japanese shares but a higher yen is discouraging” investors, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary.

The dollar fetched 107.76 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.83 yen in New York and 108.09 yen in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten was up 3.98 percent at 972.2 yen after its fourth quarter earnings matched market expectations.

Game giant Nintendo was up 0.85 percent at 44,780 yen while Sony climbed 0.39 percent to 5,119 yen.

However some blue-chip exporters were lower, with Toyota edging down 0.64 percent to 7,229 yen and Panasonic slipping 0.90 percent to 1,579 yen.

Japan’s GDP grows for 8th straight quarter – longest since 1980s

Japan's economy grew for the eighth straight quarter at the end of 2017, government data showed Wednesday, the longest period of expansion since the boom days of the late 1980s.

Gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of last year rose 0.1 percent from the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said.

But the growth fell short of market expectations for a rise of 0.2 percent and represented a slowdown from the 0.6 percent in the preceding July-September quarter.

At an annualised rate, the world's third largest economy grew 0.5 percent.

The gains were driven by upturns in consumer spending as well as increased investment by Japanese firms on equipment and facilities.

Exports rose but imports increased at a faster pace.

The continuing economic growth is good news for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been trying to fire up the economy with his pro-spending policy.

The Japanese economy has enjoyed a period of export-driven growth, helped by a recovering global economy.

It has also got a shot in the arm from domestic demand spurred by infrastructure upgrades ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.

However, with wage growth and consumption persistently lukewarm, the world's third-largest economy is still battling deflation – APP/AFP