Summary Toyota climbed 0.73 percent to 8,122.0 yen while Canon firmed 0.48 percent to 3,908.0 yen.
TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo stocks rose 0.26 percent Monday morning with exporters helped by a weaker yen while analysts said investors are also weighing China s interest rate cut at the weekend.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which ended last week at a fresh 15-year high, added 49.25 points to 18,847.19, while the Topix index of all first-section issues advanced 0.24 percent, or 3.70 points, to 1,527.55.
The Nikkei opened strongly but lost some gains to profit taking by the break, while markets cast an eye on the latest central bank to ease monetary policy in a bid to kickstart faltering growth.
On Saturday, the People s Bank of China cut interest rates by 25 basis points, citing "historically low inflation" among the factors behind its decision.
The move is the latest by authorities aimed at helping the world s number-two economy regain its lustre after it grew in 2014 at its slowest pace since 1990. This month the PBoC also cut the percentage of funds banks must hold in reserve, known as the reserve requirement ratio, to try to boost lending.
"Investors will be trying to figure out the effects of the Chinese rate cuts today," Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities, told Bloomberg News.
"China has been taking easing measures every month, so there s a possibility that the cut s positive effects will be limited."
In forex trading, the dollar extended its Friday gains, helped by a better-than-expected pace of US economic growth in the fourth quarter.
The greenback bought 119.87 yen Monday, up from 119.63 yen in New York and 119.17 yen in Tokyo earlier Friday.
In Tokyo share trading, Panasonic rose 1.43 percent to 1,516.5 yen after announcing a dividend hike on Friday.
Toyota climbed 0.73 percent to 8,122.0 yen while Canon firmed 0.48 percent to 3,908.0 yen.
Skymark Airlines, Japan s third-biggest carrier, was officially delisted from the Tokyo bourse.
The struggling company filed for bankruptcy protection in late January in the face of potentially massive penalties over a cancelled $2.2 billion jet order with Airbus.
