TOKYO, June 3 — Tokyo stocks opened higher today as investors took heart from a strong showing on Wall Street and a cheaper yen against the dollar.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.38 per cent or 308.50 points at 22,634.11 in early trade, while the broader Topix index climbed 1.12 per cent or 17.74 points to 1,605.42.

"A cheaper yen against the dollar is a tailwind for Japanese shares, supporting exporters,” said Okasan Online Securities.

"Expectations for additional easing by the European Central Bank is growing” ahead of their meeting in Frankfurt tomorrow, which is also giving the Tokyo market some momentum, the analysts added.

Economists expect the ECB to announce hundreds of billions of euros in new bond-buying to keep fighting the pandemic crisis.

The dollar fetched ¥108.81 (RM4.27) in early Asian trade, against ¥108.69 in New York, and 107.70 in Asian afternoon trade today.

In Tokyo, major shares were higher across the board, with Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing climbing 3.50 per cent to ¥63,910, Sony trading up 1.58 per cent at ¥7,246 and Toyota stronger by 1.96 per cent at ¥6,907.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 1.1 per cent at 25,742.65. — AFP