Tokyo stocks up 0.18% by break

Tokyo stocks rose 0.18 percent Monday morning, supported by a weaker yen and following another record close on Wall Street driven by optimism over the outlook for the US economy.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 31.93 points at 17,850.89 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.11 percent, or 1.53 points, to 1,429.03.

"The market is benefiting from solid year-end momentum as the dollar continues to look bullish, while US data are increasingly pointing to an ideal, moderately recovering economy with no near-term interest rate increase in sight," said SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi.

"The market does look somewhat overheated, but investors are looking forward to next year and are encouraged by the prospects for better-than-expected Japanese corporate earnings."

In currency markets, the dollar was at 120.45 yen, up from 120.37 in New York Friday.

A weaker yen is a positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and inflates their repatriated profits.

On Friday, Wall Street stocks rose to fresh records following a strong US GDP growth report released earlier in the week.

The Dow notched its seventh straight gain, advancing 0.13 percent to another record, while the S&P 500 jumped 0.33 percent, also a hitting an all-time high. The Nasdaq gained 0.70 percent.

Japanese airlines were mixed after an AirAsia plane went missing with 162 people on board en route from Indonesia to Singapore.

All Nippon Airways inched up 0.03 percent to 302.4 yen by the break, while Japan Airlines eased 0.41 percent to 3,585.0 yen.

-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story --

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