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| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday as investors responded positively to US President Donald Trump signalling that his health is improving after contracting the coronavirus. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.06 percent, or 243.46 points, to 23,273.36 in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 1.19, percent or 19.10 points, to 1,628.32. "Suggestions that President Trump's health is improving are helping early gains in the market," Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary. Trump waved at supporters from a motorcade Sunday on a short drive outside the hospital where he is being treated for Covid-19. The outing came minutes after the president had announced "a surprise" for fans, and it appeared designed to personally take back the narrative on his health after a weekend of confused and contradictory messaging from the White House and Trump's medical team. The dollar fetched 105.53 yen in early Asian trade, against 105.37 yen in New York late Friday. In Tokyo, Sony was up 1.84 percent at 7,896 yen, Toyota rose 0.83 percent to 6,948 yen, and Nippon Steel gained 4.04 percent to 1,023 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.5 percent at 27,682.81. kh/sah/qan
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