Tokyo Shares Open Higher After Wall Street Rally

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday after Wall Street rallied ahead of a holiday weekend on upturns in the tech sector.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.00 percent to 21,370 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.72 percent at 1,716.

Financial markets in Australia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong were closed on Friday for public holidays.

"Higher US stock prices sent the market here higher," said Toshihiko Matsuno at the investor information division of SMBC Nikko Securities.

"Further easing of tension over North Korea has also contributed to improving investor sentiment," he added.

Before the long Easter holiday weekend, US stocks closed higher on Thursday with the technology sector rallying after two bruising sessions.

Nissan shares were up 0.18 percent at 1,096 yen after Bloomberg news agency said that Renault was talking to the Japanese automaker about a merger that would create a new group that trades as a single stock.

The French company's shares gained almost six percent on Thursday.

Matsuno said investors were waiting for further details or official comment on the news before making a large move.

Mobile operator and IT investor SoftBank Group rose 2.42 percent to 7,995 yen and Sony gained 0.41 percent to 5,131 yen.

The dollar was trading at 106.32 yen against 106.45 yen in New York on Thursday. (AFP)