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| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday, extending rallies on Wall Street as worries over geopolitical risks linked to US-Iran tensions receded. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.31 percent or 73.16 points to 23,813.03 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.35 percent or 6.07 points at 1,735.12. Japanese shares are seen "dominated by buying, helped by rallies in US shares," with easing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East, said Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex. The gains marked a second straight session of advances on rising confidence that the US and Iran would avoid all-out conflict, following statements Wednesday by US President Donald Trump and Iranian officials. Investor sentiment was further boosted by China's announcement that Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington next week to sign the "phase one" deal with the United States that has lowered trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies, analysts said. The dollar fetched 109.53 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.51 yen in New York late Thursday. In Tokyo, chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron was up 1.79 percent at 24,925 yen and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was up 1.43 percent at 6,370 yen. Some China-linked shares were higher, with industrial robot maker Fanuc gaining 2.50 percent to 20,700 yen while construction machine maker Komatsu advanced 1.14 percent to 2,614 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.7 percent at 28,956.90. kh/sah/hg
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