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| - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday, extending rallies on Wall Street backed by optimism about the further easing of lockdowns in some pandemic-hit economies. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.29 percent, or 290.66 points, at 22,904.42 in early trade, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.94 percent, or 15.05 points, to 1,614.13. "The notion that the worst of the COVID-19 economic slump may well be behind us gained credence" over the past hours, "with encouraging data releases from China, Europe and the US", Rodrigo Catril, strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a note. "Japanese shares are seen rallying sharply following gains on Wall Street," with investors testing the Nikkei's psychologically important 23,000 levels, Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary. The dollar fetched 108.89 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.92 yen in New York. In Tokyo, exporters were higher, with Canon rallying 2.13 percent to 2,348.5 yen, Sony trading up 1.37 percent at 7,249 yen, and Honda 1.74 percent higher at 2,948 yen. Airlines were also higher, with Japan Airlines up 1.83 percent at 2,227.5 yen and ANA Holdings rising 0.57 percent to 2,659.5 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 2.1 percent at 26,269.89. kh/sah/qan
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