Japan Stocks Set to Rise as Traders Await Fed, BOJ: Markets Wrap

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Index Seen Opening Higher, Following U.S. Tech Gains

Key Points:

• Nikkei 225 futures point to a higher open on Tuesday.
• Traders await the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting.
• The Bank of Japan is also expected to meet this week.
• The yen weakened against the U.S. dollar, boosting exporters.

TOKYO, Jan. 24 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks are set to open higher on Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight, as traders await the outcome of key central bank meetings this week.

Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.42% in early Asian trade, pointing to a higher open for the benchmark index. The broader Topix index futures also gained 0.42%.

On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.01% on Monday, boosted by gains in Apple and Tesla.

Traders are now turning their attention to the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which begins on Tuesday. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, but investors will be watching for any signals on the pace of future hikes.

The Bank of Japan is also expected to meet this week, and traders will be watching for any signs of a shift in its ultra-loose monetary policy.

In currency markets, the yen weakened against the U.S. dollar, trading at 130.05 per dollar. A weaker yen tends to boost the earnings of Japanese exporters.

Among individual stocks, shares of chipmaker Tokyo Electron were up 1.19% in premarket trading, while automakers Toyota and Honda gained 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.