Tokyo — Japanese stocks edged towards two-year highs on Tuesday as exporters benefited from dollar strength, with investors expecting comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen to support the Fed’s projection for one more interest rate rise this year. Spread-betters expected a slightly higher open for Britain’s FTSE, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC. Yellen is scheduled to take part in a discussion on global economic issues at London’s Royal Academy and a number of other top Fed officials are also due to speak later in the global day. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei was last up 0.3% at 20,210.09 points in subdued trading. A rise above 20,318.11, a peak scaled a week ago, would take the Nikkei to its highest since August 2015. "The fundamental mood is not bad, but it’s hard for investors to find direction on a day where there are no other major catalysts other than a weak yen," said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. Despite lower treasury yields, the ...
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