TOKYO: Tokyo stocks started 1.04 per cent stronger on Friday, helped by gains on Wall Street and the dollar’s climb against the yen.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 182.52 points to 17,788.74 at the start.
Investors seemed to largely shrug off Japanese government data released early Friday showing consumer inflation slowed for a fifth straight month in December with household spending falling.
In New York on Thursday the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.31 per cent after two days of losses, following generally solid corporate earnings and a gain in oil prices.