Tokyo stocks opened higher Friday, as technology shares tracked overnight advances by their U.S. peers and exporters rose on weakness in the yen which hit a six-month low in the lower 140 range against the U.S. dollar.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 180.01 points, or 0.58 percent, from Thursday to 30,981.14. The broader Topix index was up 7.68 points, or 0.36 percent, at 2,153.83.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers included air transportation, electrical appliance and land transportation.
At 9 a.m., the U.S. dollar fetched 140.01-04 yen compared with 140.00-10 yen in New York and 139.39-41 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0722-0726 and 150.12-21 yen against $1.0720-0730 and 150.19-29 yen in New York, and $1.0721-0722 and 149.44-48 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.
