The yen remained weak in the lower 147 zone against the U.S. dollar early Friday in Tokyo after hitting a 32-year low in the upper 147 level overnight on renewed prospects for aggressive interest rate hikes in the United States.
Stocks opened sharply higher following four straight days of losses, supported by overnight gains on Wall Street.
At 9 a.m., the dollar fetched 147.28-33 yen compared with 147.17-27 yen in New York and 146.83-84 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The euro was quoted at $0.9766-9767 and 143.83-90 yen against $0.9773-9783 and 143.93-144.03 yen in New York and $0.9705-9707 and 142.50-54 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 590.72 points, or 2.25 percent, from Thursday to 26,828.14. The broader Topix index was up 30.75 points, or 1.66 percent, at 1,885.36.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by electric appliance, insurance, and service issues.
