Tokyo stocks rise in morning on weak yen, strong chip shares

Tokyo stocks rose Thursday morning, boosted by exporter and semiconductor issues that drew buying on the back of the yen’s fall to a seven-and-a-half-month low against the U.S. dollar.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 154.50 points, or 0.47 percent, from Wednesday to 33,348.49. The broader Topix index was up 0.62 point, or 0.03 percent, at 2,299.22.

Gainers were led by precision instrument, bank and electric appliance shares.