Tokyo: Stocks open up 1.04%

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 1.04 per cent higher on Friday, helped by gains on Wall Street and the dollar's rise against the yen.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 182.52 points to 17,788.74 at the start.

Investors seemed to largely shrug off Japanese government data released early Friday showing consumer inflation slowed for a fifth straight month in December with household spending falling.

In New York on Thursday the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.31 per cent after two days of losses, following generally solid corporate earnings and a gain in oil prices.

The dollar rose against the yen on upbeat expectations for the first estimate of fourth-quarter US gross domestic product, due out Friday.

The dollar was at 118.25 yen early Friday, slightly down from 118.34 yen in New York Thursday afternoon but still up from 117.70 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

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

The euro bought US$1.1327 and 133.91 yen against US$1.1317 and 133.93 yen in US trade.

AFP