Tokyo stocks up 1.14% by break

Tokyo stocks rose 1.14 percent Monday morning, tracking gains on Wall Street as investors took a positive view of a below-forecast US employment report.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 index added 164.38 points to 14,626.79 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 0.69 percent, or 8.16 points, to 1,197.30.

The US Labor Department said Friday that the economy added 113,000 jobs in January, far below the 175,000 forecast. However, analysts said the report did include some positive news, such as a rise in labour force participation and a drop in the overall unemployment rate.

The news boosted Wall Street, with the Dow jumping 1.06 percent, the S&P 500 up 1.33 percent and the Nasdaq 1.69 percent higher.

"The labour data certainly weren't convincing enough to warrant strong confidence in the US economic recovery, which could have simply meant that US shares were oversold and ready for a rebound," Daisuke Uno, strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., told Dow Jones Newswires.

"(New US Fed Chair) Yellen's testimony before the Senate is going to be under scrutiny for how the data are being officially interpreted."

Investors will be keeping a close eye on Janet Yellen's comments for clues about the Fed plans for its stimulus programme, which has been credited with buoying global equity markets.

In share trading, Sony rose 0.41 percent to 1,698 yen, Toyota added 1.01 percent to 5,960 yen and Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing was up 2.12 percent at 37,030 yen.

Automaker Nissan rose 0.33 percent to 887 yen ahead of the release of its nine-month earnings later in the day.

In forex markets, the dollar was at 102.38 yen, up from 102.30 yen in New York Friday.