Tokyo: Stocks open up 1.42%

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 1.42 per cent higher on Friday, helped by the dollar's rise against the yen and strong gains on Wall Street.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 215.39 points to 15,354.35 at the start.

"The weaker yen should naturally benefit Japan stocks, and help to highlight the fact that shares are looking cheap from many perspectives," said Mutsumi Kagawa, senior global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.

The dollar rose into the 108-yen range Thursday, with risk sentiment lifted by encouraging Chinese manufacturing data and solid readings for eurozone business activity.

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

US stocks bolted higher Thursday following a series of mostly strong earnings reports from Dow companies Caterpillar, 3M and others.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 1.32 per cent while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.23 per cent.

The dollar was at 108.14 yen early Friday, down from 108.27 yen in New York Thursday afternoon but well above 107.24 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

The euro bought 136.83 yen against 136.93 yen in New York and 135.59 yen in Tokyo on Thursday.

The common European currency bought US$1.2651 against US$1.2647 in US trade.

AFP