Tokyo shares open higher on a weaker yen

Tokyo shares rose in early trade on a weaker yen Tuesday, despite losses on Wall Street and as investors were eyeing US jobs figures and a European Central Bank meeting for trading cues.

Tokyo's benchmark index gained for the first time in three days in early deals, with the weaker yen -- a plus for Japanese exporters -- lending some support.

"Japanese stocks may rebound from losses seen from the end of last week through the start of this week," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co, told Bloomberg News.

"The yen at its current exchange level is not bad for Japanese exporters."

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 0.91 percent, or 179.04 points, at 19,926.51 in early trade, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.97 percent, or 15.38 points, to 1,595.63.

Japanese investors are awaiting a policy-setting meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday that could see further monetary easing to boost growth in the struggling eurozone economy.

They are also anticipating a key US jobs report at the end of the week.

In currency trading, the dollar rose to 123.26 yen from 123.09 yen Monday in New York.

The euro traded mixed at $1.0565 and 130.24 yen compared to $1.0566 and 130.05 yen in US trade.

Wall Street ended lower Monday on worries about a weak holiday shopping season, hitting retail-sector stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.44 percent, while the broad-based S&P 500 was down 0.46 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.37 percent.