Yahoo Finance Tokyo stocks rise 1.16% by break
Tokyo shares climbed 1.16 percent Thursday morning thanks to a weaker yen, a jump on Wall Street driven by upbeat US jobs data and hopes for a deal to keep Greece in the eurozone.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 235.27 points to 20,564.59 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was up 0.91 percent, or 14.87 points, to 1,651.28.
US shares rallied after a gauge of US manufacturing activity for June came in at its highest level in five months, while a survey of private job creation marked its strongest reading this year.
Investors are now turning their focus to non-farm payrolls later Thursday, which is expected to supply more evidence that the world's top economy is gaining strength.
On Wall Street the Dow rose 0.79 percent, the S&P 500 was up 0.69 percent and the Nasdaq tacked on 0.53 percent.
The figures will also firm expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, possibly in September, pushing the dollar up against the yen.
The greenback rose to 123.36 yen, from 123.15 yen in New York and well up from the 122.48 yen in Tokyo earlier Wednesday.
"Just as the Federal Reserve expected, as we head toward higher interest rates the economic mood is recovering," said Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management in Tokyo.
Earlier Wednesday, a closely watched Bank of Japan survey showed that confidence among major manufacturers jumped in the three months to June, hitting its highest level in more than a year.
While European leaders dismissed Wednesday an offer from cash-strapped Greece for a new bailout -- which had been presented just before it defaulted -- traders are confident the crisis will eventually be resolved.
"There has to be a negotiated deal there and I think the market believes there will be at the end of the day despite the drama," Michael Cuggino, a fund manager at Pacific Heights Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.
In Tokyo share trading, Toyota was up 0.34 percent to 8,168 yen, Sony added 0.75 percent to 3,498 yen, bank Mitsubishi UFJ rose 0.91 percent to 896.1 yen and market heavyweight Fast Retailing, which operates the Uniqlo clothing chain, jumped 3.02 percent to 58,320 yen.
Sharp surged 4.64 percent to 158 yen after ratings agency Standard & Poor's moved the troubled electronics giant back out of "selective default", just a day after lowering its assessment on the firm.
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