Tokyo stocks open up 1.34pc

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday following overnight gains in other major markets on the news that major central banks joined forces to ensure US dollar liquidity to Europe's embattled banks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened up 116.42 points or 1.34 percent at 8,785.28.

The Nikkei index could rise on temporary relief after the pledge by central banks to pump dollars into the European banking system, said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a strategist at Okasan Securities.

But the fundamental debt issue in Europe remains unresolved and could lead to some profit-taking later in the day ahead of Japan's three-day weekend, he told Dow Jones Newswires.

The European Central Bank and its US, Japanese, Swiss and British counterparts announced Thursday that they would act in concert to inject extra dollar liquidity into banks facing a shortage of the US currency.

The announcement sent European stocks soaring -- the key eurozone bourses all closing up more than 3 percent -- and the sentiment spilled over to the United States.

In positive territory for the fourth day in a row, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 186.45 points (1.66 percent) at 11,433.18.

The euro fetched $1.3869 in early Asian trade, compared with $1.3882 late Thursday in New York where the common European currency jumped after the move to aid Europe's struggling banks.

The dollar was at 76.69 yen, almost unchanged from New York.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011