schema:articleBody
| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday, extending rallies on Wall Street with investors eyeing China's GDP figures due later in the day. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.87 percent or 360.87 points at 19,651.07 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 1.16 percent or 16.55 points to 1,438.79. "Japanese shares are supported by sharp rises in US stocks as President Donald Trump vowed to press ahead with reopening the economy," Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a note. China's January-March GDP data due during late morning trade in Tokyo "is in focus as it is expected to show the first negative quarter-on-quarter growth since 1992," he added. Some investors may refrain from active trading ahead of the weekend, analysts said. The dollar fetched 107.90 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.81 yen in New York late Thursday. In Tokyo, automakers were among winners, with Toyota trading up 0.88 percent at 6,660 yen and Honda up 2.43 percent at 2335.5 yen. Parts makers were also higher, with Yasukawa Electric rallying 2.89 percent to 3,205 yen and Murata Manufacturing advancing 1.43 percent to 5,752 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 percent at 23,537.68. kh/sah/kaf
|