Tokyo: Stocks open 0.57% higher

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.57 per cent higher on Thursday after nine consecutive days of rises, buoyed by a lower yen and a positive lead from Wall Street.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which closed at a new 15-year high on Wednesday, climbed 117.70 points to 20,590.28 at the start.

The Nasdaq bolted to a fresh record peak Wednesday in a broad-based Wall Street rally that largely reversed sharp losses in the previous session.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.47 per cent, almost 15 points above the prior record set April 24.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.67 per cent, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.92 per cent.

The dollar climbed to the 124 yen level briefly Wednesday, hitting the highest level since June 2007 on expectations of US economic recovery.

The weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and increases profits when repatriated.

The dollar was at 123.75 yen early Thursday after 123.63 yen in New York late Wednesday and 123.08 yen in Tokyo earlier Wednesday.

The euro stayed pressured by worries over Greek debt, slipping to $1.0892 and 134.76 yen from $1.0906 and 134.83 yen in US trade.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday the debt-wracked country was "in the final stretch" of talks with its EU-IMF creditors of an agreement to release bailout funds.

Markets have worried that the Greek government is running out of cash and may not have enough to repay loans from the International Monetary Fund that are due in a series of payments from June 5.

AFP