Japanese shares up 1.48pc at open

TOKYO: Japanese shares opened 1.48 percent higher Monday, after Wall Street ended last week with an upswing and as Japan reported better-than-expected second-quarter economic growth figures.

The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 133.00 points to 9,096.72 shortly after the opening bell. The Topix of all first section shares gained 1.36 percent or 10.44 points to 778.63.

Investors were relieved by a rise in US stocks toward the end of last week, despite a mixed batch of US economic data on consumer sentiment, said Daiwa Securities general manager Kazuhiro Takahashi.

Sentiment improved further Monday when the Japanese government said the economy contracted an annualised 1.3 percent in the April-June quarter, significantly better than market predictions of a 2.7-percent fall.

On Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.13 percent, the broader S&P 500 added 0.53 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.61 percent.

But Takahashi said the Japanese market would continue to feel pressure from a high yen against the dollar, which hurts the country's exporters.

The dollar stood at 77.03 yen, slightly higher from 76.78 in New York Friday. The euro traded at $1.4301 and 110.19 yen, from $1.4250 and 109.27 in New York.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011