TOKYO: Japanese shares opened sharply higher Thursday following gains in US and European markets, as investors continued to cheer the fall of the yen against the dollar.
The headline Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange surged 1.28 percent or 122.98 points to 9,699.04 in early trade. The Topix index of all first-section issues added 1.29 percent or 10.62 points to 833.42.
Market sentiment in Tokyo remained bright, as the yen continued to weaken after the government said that Japan saw its largest ever current account deficit in January at 437.3 billion yen ($5.4 billion).
Japan's first current account deficit in three years came as a sharp rise in the total value of imports, boosted by the high cost of energy, overwhelmed struggling exports.
The yen stood at 81.29 to the dollar in morning trade in Tokyo, slipping from 81.03 in New York overnight.
The euro stood at $1.3141 and 106.75 yen, compared with $1.3148 and 106.67 in New York.
A lower yen helps Japanese exporters, the nation's main economic engine, by making their products less expensive overseas and by boosting the value of their overseas revenues when repatriated.
Solid US jobs data and a belief that Greece is making steady progress towards a deal to avoid a default lifted Wall Street shares, with the effect continuing into Tokyo trade, analysts said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 78.18 points (0.61 percent) to finish at 12,837.33.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 9.27 (0.69 percent) to 1,352.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite rose 25.37 points (0.87 percent) to 2,935.69.
But ahead of the deadline later to finalise the Greek deal, the Nikkei's topside should be limited, said Yumi Nishimura, senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities.
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