TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose in early trade Monday, as investors remain buoyed by the Bank of Japan's surprise stimulus announcement last week and Sony soared on strong quarterly earnings.
The electronics giant on Friday reported a nine-month net profit of almost $2.0 billion, as huge demand for its PlayStation video games console and image sensors found in mobile gadgets help it move past years of losses.
Sony skyrocketed 13.46 percent to 2,862.5 yen by the break.
The blue-chip Nikkei index got a boost, tracking rallies overseas as the surprise BoJ stimulus raised hopes for more central bank moves to lift growth.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange advanced 1.80 percent, or 315.23 points, to 17,833.53, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 2.10 percent, or 30.04 points, to 1,462.11.
Japan's central bank announced a negative interest rate policy, meaning it would effectively start charging lenders to park their cash with it.
The move -- intended to ramp up lending to people and businesses in order to kickstart the economy and fend off deflation -- spurred a rally across world markets and sent the yen tumbling, which is good for Japanese exporters.
On Wall Street, the Dow jumped 2.47 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 2.48 percent and the Nasdaq surged 2.38 percent.
"With lower global growth and inflation expected, the BoJ has taken a leap forward, and Europe is considering a move as well," Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities, told Bloomberg News.
"Investors such as pension funds should slowly shift their assets from bonds to equities."
Tokyo investors will also be eyeing a string of corporate earnings this week, with Nintendo, Panasonic, Toshiba and banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ among the firms reporting.
Toyota rose 1.58 percent to 7,314 yen, with investors shrugging off news that the automaker would temporarily stop its vehicle production in Japan due to a parts shortage following an explosion at a supplier factory.
Mobile carrier SoftBank jumped 3.17 percent to 5,432 yen, while factory robotics giant Fanuc climbed 1.08 percent to 15,980 yen.
Banks fell on concerns the BoJ's new policy could hit their earnings, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group dropping 7.01 percent to 3,701 yen, Mitsubishi UFJ down 5.91 percent to 573.4 yen and Mizuho Financial Group losing 5.73 percent to 194 yen.
The dollar rose to 121.29 yen from 121.12 yen Friday in New York. The greenback was at 118.60 yen on Friday before the BoJ move.
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