Tokyo stocks up 1.67% by break
Tokyo stocks rose 1.67 percent on Thursday morning, buoyed by a weaker yen, a rally on Wall Street and a pick-up in oil prices.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 282.43 points at 17,167.76 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 1.37 percent, or 18.69 points, to 1,378.49.
"Japanese stocks should naturally rebound today, pricing in the gains in the US shares," Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News.
"There's been a temporary halt in the fall in oil prices, and the possibility of more easing in Europe has increased. The rebound will just be within a natural cycle though, so gains will probably be limited."
On Wall Street the Dow added 1.23 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.16 percent and the Nasdaq rallied 1.26 percent.
US dealers were encouraged by by data showing the trade deficit shrinking sharply to its smallest size in nearly a year and the private sector adding a higher-than-expected 241,000 jobs in December.
The dollar rose to 119.73 yen, from 119.17 yen in New York as minutes from the Federal Reserve's December suggested interest rates are unlikely to rise until at least April, analysts said.
Shares of McDonald's Holdings Co. Japan fell 1.57 percent to 2,512.0 yen after it said Wednesday that a human tooth was found in french fries sold at an Osaka restaurant last year, the latest in a series of problems for the firm including contaminated chicken nuggets and a chip shortage.
Japan Tobacco rose 2.51 percent to 3,184.0 yen as an institutional investor called for the cigarette giant to launch a share buyback.
Japan Airlines jumped 4.56 percent to 3,785.0 yen and rival All Nippon Airways rose 2.58 percent to 301.8 yen after Nomura raised their price target, pointing to the benefits of weak oil prices. Fuel is often an airline's single biggest cost.
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