Tokyo: Stocks open 0.30% higher

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.30 per cent higher on Monday after solid gains on Wall Street last week.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which closed slightly down on Friday after hitting 20,000 for the first time in 15 years, added 59.75 points to 19,967.38 at the start.

In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.55 per cent on Friday as a big General Electric asset sale added to the boost created by a series of Wall Street deals, including major merger announcements by Royal Dutch Shell and FedEx.

The dollar was at 120.21 yen early Monday after 120.30 yen in New York late Friday.

The euro bought US$1.0605 and 127.53 yen against US$1.0599 and 127.50 yen in US trade.

AFP