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| - Tokyo's key Nikkei 225 index opened more than three percent higher on Tuesday, extending rallies on Wall Street as some of the world's worst-hit countries reported falling coronavirus death rates. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 3.07 percent or 570.11 points to 19,146.41 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 2.75 percent or 37.80 points at 1,414.10. "Tokyo stocks are seen rising backed by surges in the US market, after the death toll in New York State turned to a decline and the number of new deaths are being curbed in Italy and Spain," Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary. On Wall Street, the Dow climbed 7.7 percent to close at 22,679.99. Traders were also buoyed by the unveiling late Monday of an unprecedented stimulus package in Japan worth around 108 trillion yen ($1 trillion), or 20 percent of GDP in the world's third-largest economy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to officially confirm a state of emergency in seven key regions of the country on Tuesday that will hand local authorities the power to request people stay at home. In Tokyo, some high-tech firms were higher with chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron jumping 5.67 percent to 22,100 yen and parts maker Murata Manufacturing trading up 3.62 percent at 5,632 yen. Financials also rose, with mega bank Mitsubishi UFJ gaining 4.24 percent to 420.5 yen. Japan's household spending in February was down 0.3 percent from a year earlier, according to official data released by the internal affairs ministry. The dollar fetched 109.21 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.23 yen in New York late Monday. kh/ric/kaf
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