Tokyo stocks open up 1.62 percent

TOKYO–Tokyo stocks opened 1.62 percent higher on Friday, mirroring gains on Wall Street and in Europe, after the European Central Bank unveiled a plan to help ailing eurozone countries.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 140.80 points to 8,821.37.

“All the signs are pointing to a bullish session,” Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires after the ECB confirmed its bond market intervention plan.

The programme is aimed at lowering the borrowing costs of the eurozone’s economically weaker governments.

The euro pushed higher on the announcement, buying $1.2640 and 99.69 yen in early Tokyo trading against $1.2629 and 99.60 yen in New York late Thursday. The dollar traded at 78.90 yen against 78.85 yen.

The euro had been trading at 98.90 yen in Asia on Thursday.

“The ECB announcement was well received by the markets, while across-the-board yen weakness should translate into liberal share buying back and short-covering,” Nishi said.

A weaker yen favours Japanese exporters as it makes their products more affordable abroad.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.87 percent at 13,292.00. The S&P 500-stock index advanced 2.04 percent to 1,432.12, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.17 percent to 3,135.81.