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| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday as the positive effects of a cheaper yen against the dollar narrowly outweighed falls on Wall Street to boost sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.29 percent or 66.80 points at 22,837.16 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.17 percent or 2.67 points to 1,581.73. "Japanese shares are top-heavy as investors were disheartened by falls in US shares... but the dollar-yen range of 107.00-107.50 yen is supporting" the market, said Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito. Mizuho Securities said in a note that "worries over an expansion in virus infections and its impact on the domestic economy, along with concerns over the US-China confrontation, are seen prompting some selling". The Topix index soon lost steam, hovering between positive and negative territory about 30 minutes after the opening bell. Investors are also closely watching the two-day EU summit starting later Friday, Mizuho added. The dollar fetched 107.32 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.29 yen in New York and 106.94 yen in Tokyo on Thursday. In Tokyo, exporters were generally higher with Nissan gaining 1.46 percent to 450.1 yen, Toyota trading up 0.87 percent at 6,849 yen, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest up 2.57 percent at 6,780 yen and Olympus up 0.84 percent at 1,986.5 yen. Airlines were among the losers, with Japan Airlines trading down 2.14 percent at 1,985 yen and its rival ANA Holdings off 2.86 percent at 2,497.5 yen. Tokyo reported a record number of new daily virus infection cases in the Japanese capital on Thursday that forced the government to scale down its subsidies programme aimed at boosting tourism. On Wall Street, the Dow shed 0.5 percent to close at 26,734.71. kh/ric/jah
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