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| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday extending rallies on Wall Street, which shrugged off three days of slides as markets grapple with the risk of increasing inflation and shifting monetary policy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.54 percent or 152.57 points to 28,250.82 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.21 percent or 4.02 points at 1,899.94. A rebound for bitcoin as well as improved US labour market data "helped rally US shares," which gave heart to investors in the Japanese market, said Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex. The dollar fetched 108.82 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.80 yen in New York late Thursday. In Tokyo, chip-linked shares were higher, with chip-testing equipment maker Advantest trading up 1.06 percent at 9,560 yen and chip-testing equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron up 1.05 percent at 46,350 yen. Among other shares, IT company Fujitsu was trading up 1.18 percent at 17,945 yen and Olympus was up 2.82 percent at 2,259.5 yen. Japan's core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, was down 0.1 percent year-on-year in April, against market expectations for a 0.2 percent decline, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry. The data did not prompt strong reaction from the market. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.6 percent at 34,084.15. kh/sah/hg
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