Tokyo stocks open up 0.63 percent

TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened 0.63 percent higher on Monday as investors awaited developments on the European debt crisis ahead of crucial talks by the region’s leaders.

The benchmark Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened up 54.03 points at 8,697.78.

The Nikkei will likely struggle for a clear direction before a series of important meetings in Europe this week, said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equity division at SMBC Nikko Securities.

“Investors are likely to wait to assess development(s) at many important meetings in Europe,” Nishi told Dow Jones Newswires.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are due to meet later Monday. European Union summit talks are planned for Thursday and Friday.

Italy on Sunday unveiled a draconian austerity programme worth 20 billion euros ($27 billion) in an effort to avoid bankruptcy for the eurozone’s third largest economy but warned a new recession was looming.

The euro bought $1.3417 and 104.73 yen in early Asian trade Monday, up from $1.3403 and 104.56 yen in New York late Friday. The dollar was almost unchanged, trading at 78.05 yen.

Nishi said some sense of overheating had emerged in the Nikkei index over the past few sessions with eased concerns over the European sovereign debt crisis and the US economy.

Closely watched US jobs data showed Friday that the unemployment rate sank to a 32-month low of 8.6 percent in November. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.01 percent to end at 12,019.42.