TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose 1.81 percent Friday morning, with investors encouraged by a weak yen and strong US economic data.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 166.79 points to 9,404.89 by the break while the Topix index of all first-section issues added 1.43 percent, or 11.41 points, to 811.66.
Solid US economic results on weekly jobless claims and housing starts triggered buying interest, brokers said. Yumi Nishimura, senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities, said the Nikkei was likely to firm up its ground in coming sessions but may face profit-taking around the 9,500-9,600 level.
"It's not going to be easy to break that level," she told Dow Jones Newswires. In New York on Thursday the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.96 percent to 12,903.71 its highest finish since May 2008.
Positive signs for the US economy poured in, with the weekly report of new claims for unemployment benefits falling to their lowest level since March 2008, while data on January housing construction confirmed a pickup in the sector.
Also providing support was news that the European Central Bank plans to swap its Greek debt holdings for new bonds once debt-restructuring negotiations are complete, moving Athens a step closer to securing a second bailout package.
The Bank of Japan's surprise credit easing earlier this week, along with the latest batch of US data, would likely continue to support Tokyo stocks, said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
"Even if stocks fall somewhat on any negative developments in Greece, buying will come in. Behind that is liquidity (provided by the Bank of Japan)," he said.
Exporters rose thanks to the weaker yen, with Toyota gaining 1.53 percent to 3,315 yen, Honda was up 2.31 percent at 795 yen and Sony rose 1.82 percent to 1,618 yen.
The dollar on Friday rose past 79.00 yen for the first time since Japan's yen-selling intervention in late October. The greenback traded at 79.05 yen in Tokyo late morning trade against 78.90 yen in New York late Thursday.
The yen briefly topped 104.00 to the euro against 103.63 yen in New York. Bridgestone was up 4.02 percent at 1,834 yen after the tyremaker Thursday said it expects net profit to soar 63.0 percent this year.
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