Japanese shares open higher after eurozone debt talks

TOKYO – Japanese shares rose 1.44 percent in early trade Monday as European leaders moved closer to forging a broad plan to contain the region’s debt crisis.

The Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 124.69 points to 8,803.58 hours after European leaders voiced confidence about their progress towards a resolution of the problem.

The Topix of all first section shares also rose 1.14 percent or 8.47 points to 752.68.

However, a lack of specific details from the eurozone talks has seen investors remain relatively cautious, said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.

“Caution nevertheless remains as nothing concrete has yet been decided,” he told Dow Jones Newswires.

European leaders, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and IMF chief Christine Lagarde, on Sunday said “good progress” had been achieved on talks to overcome their debt crisis that has threatened the world economy.

However, they announced few concrete details, vowing to reveal all at a second summit on Wednesday.

Ahead of the weekend, optimists pushed up global shares Friday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close up 267.01 points, or 2.31 percent, to 11,808.79.

The broader S&P 500 added 1.88 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.49 percent.

The market gains in Tokyo came despite the yen’s continued strength, which hurts Japan’s exporters. The currency hit a fresh record of 75.78 to the dollar during New York trade Friday.

The yen dropped slightly to 76.35 after Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi reiterated his warning early Monday that he could take “decisive steps” to tame the currency’s strength.

Tokyo dealers said the market was not likely push to the dollar to another all-time low in Asian trade due to fears over possible Japanese intervention.

The euro was at $1.3844 and 105.74 yen, compared with $1.3896 and 105.89 yen in New York Friday.