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| - Tokyo stocks opened more than two percent higher on Thursday after the European Central Bank announced a surprise 750-billion-euro scheme to support the economy and the Japanese yen edged lower. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 2.42 percent or 404.70 points to 17,131.25 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 2.45 percent or 31.11 points at 1,301.95. Minutes before the opening bell in Tokyo, the ECB joined other central banks in stepping up efforts to contain the economic damage from the coronavirus. The so-called Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme comes just six days after the ECB unveiled a big-bank stimulus package that failed to calm nervous markets, piling pressure on the bank to further open the financial floodgates. The latest move by the ECB is supporting "the momentum provided by the Bank of Japan", Takebe Rikiya, senior strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary, referring to the BoJ's emergency monetary policy measures announced on Monday. Japan's core inflation data, released minutes before Tokyo trade started, also provided a sense of relief to the market as it was largely in line with market expectations, he added. Japan's prices rose a sluggish 0.6 percent in February, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry. The latest figure for the core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, was in line with the market consensus of a 0.5-percent rise, and comes after weak year-on-year rises in recent months. The dollar fetched 108.36 yen in early Asian trade, against 107.96 yen in New York late Wednesday. In Tokyo, automakers were higher despite reports they will temporarily close factories in Europe and other parts of the world. Toyota climbed 1.45 percent at 6,409 yen, Honda was up 3.11 percent at 2,347 yen and Nissan raced ahead 6.46 percent at 409.9 yen. Other exporters were higher, boosted by a cheaper yen, with Sony trading up 2.52 percent at 6,143 yen and Panasonic up 1.39 percent at 721.1 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 6.3 percent at 19,898.92. kh/ric/jah
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