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| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday, extending rallies on Wall Street on optimism over steps to reopen major economies worldwide with the worst of the coronavirus pandemic seemingly over. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.98 percent, or 210.63 points, at 21,629.86 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.76 percent, or 11.84 points, to 1,561.31. "Japanese shares are supported by US rallies" with traders bullish on the reopening of the US and Japan, said Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex. Concerns over a simmering row between the US and China over Hong Kong's special status are putting a brake on the euphoria, however, analysts said. The dollar fetched 107.86 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.77 yen in New York on Wednesday. In Tokyo, airlines were among the winners, with Japan Airlines rising 1.28 percent to 2,214.5 yen and ANA Holdings trading up 1.07 percent at 2,699.5 yen. Honda rallied 2.29 percent to 2,876 yen and Toyota gained 1.36 percent to 6,832 yen. Nissan surged 7.96 percent to 448.6 yen and Mitsubishi Motors climbed 6.05 percent to 333 yen after their three-way alliance with Renault unveiled plans to deepen their cooperation. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 2.2 percent at 25,548.27. kh/ric/mtp
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