TOKYO: Tokyo shares rose 1.40 percent on opening Monday, helped by a weaker yen, China's decision at the weekend to ease monetary policy and trade data that was in line with forecasts.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened 131.05 points higher at 9,515.22, rising above 9,500 for the first time since August 4.
"With the weak yen trend, China's easing announcement is supporting the index," Mizuho Securities senior technical analyst Yutaka Miura told Dow Jones Newswires, adding that the Nikkei index may top 9,700 in the next couple of days.
China's central bank said Saturday it would cut the amount of money commercial banks must keep in reserve by 0.50 percentage points from February 24 to ease restrictions on lending, state media reported.
Ten minutes before the opening bell, Japan said it logged a record trade deficit of 1,475 billion yen ($18.5 billion) in January as fuel imports rose to meet electricity generation needs and exports to Europe slumped.
The January figure was more than triple the year-before shortfall of 479.4 billion yen and slightly higher than the average forecast of 1.468 trillion yen predicted by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei.
The dollar edged down to 79.67 yen from 79.84 yen just before the release of the trade deficit, but still up from 79.17 yen late Friday in New York.
The euro bought $1.3212 and 105.23 yen in early Asian trade Monday, compared with $1.3148 and 104.54 yen.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35 percent to finish at 12,949.87, its best finish since May 19, 2008, but in cautious trade ahead on a decision on Greece's bailout Monday.
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