Tokyo, Oct 7 (AFP/APP):Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday, extending rallies on Wall Street, as US jobs data eased recession fears while maintaining rate cut expectations.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.19 percent or 41.43 points at 21,451.63 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.25 percent or 4.01 points at 1,576.91.
“As the US unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in 50 years, worries over US recession eased, but at the same time expectations for further rate cuts remain untouched,” Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, said in a commentary.
Investor focus is shifting to US-China trade talks with ministerial-level negotiations scheduled for this week, he added.
The dollar fetched 106.80 in early Asian trade, against 106.86 yen in New York on Friday.
In Tokyo, SoftBank Group was up 1.40 percent at 4,178 yen after US antitrust authorities on Friday approved the $26 billion merger of T-Mobile and SoftBank-controlled Sprint in a deal that brings together the third- and fourth-largest wireless operators.
Among other major shares, Sony was up 0.14 percent at 6,224 yen and Nissan was up 0.27 percent at 661.9 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 1.4 percent at 26,573.72.
