TOKYO, Dec 27 — Tokyo stocks opened higher today, encouraged by rallies on Wall Street with a relatively cheap yen also supporting exporters.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.09 per cent, or 21.24 points, to 23,946.16 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.20 per cent, or 3.54 points, at 1,734.74.

"Japanese shares are expected to keep rising towards the last trading day of the year, following fresh records in US shares and a cheapish yen,” Okasan Online Securities strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.

The dollar fetched ¥109.47 in early Asian trade, against ¥109.42 yesterday in late Tokyo.

Game makers were among the winners in major shares, with Nintendo trading up 0.66 per cent at 43,840 and Sega Sammy Holdings up 1.12 per cent at ¥1,616.

Automakers were mostly higher, with Toyota gaining 0.44 per cent to ¥7,759, Mazda up 0.64 per cent to ¥934, and small car expert Suzuki up 0.88 per cent to ¥4,650.

Sharp was up 0.48 per cent at ¥1,663 after reports said Japan Display plans to sell a domestic plant to the company.

Japan Display was up 2.73 per cent at ¥75.

Japan’s industrial output in November slipped 0.9 per cent from the previous month, the second consecutive monthly decline, according to data released by the industry ministry 10 minutes before the opening bell.

The unemployment rate in November stood at 2.2 per cent, down by 0.2 percentage points from October, separate data released by the internal affairs ministry showed, confirming the tight labour market in the country.

On Wall Street, the Dow added 0.4 per cent to end at 28,621.39. — AFP