TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose 0.75 percent to a seven-year high Monday as the dollar picked up against the yen in response to OPEC's decision not to cut output.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 130.25 points to 17,590.10, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.80 percent, or 11.31 points, to 1,421.65.
"A couple of days of profit-taking last week has allowed for some of the 'overheatedness' to dissipate from the market, making way for this week's rise," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
"Once the Nikkei breached the 17,500 level, a good deal of short-covering was seen occurring; the market could easily see 18,000 next week," Miura told Dow Jones Newswires.
The dollar climbed to 118.84 yen from 118.65 yen in New York Friday afternoon, providing strong support for Japanese exporters as the yen weakens.
Also boosting sentiment, capital spending among Japanese firms rebounded 3.1 percent in the third quarter as investors look ahead to the release of revised economic growth figures next week.
Some analysts expect an upward revision that would pull Japan out of a technical recession.
Preliminary data showed the world's number three economy contracted 0.4 percent -- or at an annualised rate of 1.6 percent -- in July-September, its second consecutive decline.
However, data Monday showed that China's manufacturing growth skidded to an eight-month low in November, the latest downbeat news about the world's second-largest economy.
The prospect of lower oil prices boosted airline shares, with All Nippon Airways climbing 3.96 percent to 303.8 yen while Japan Airlines jumped 4.15 percent to 3,635.0 yen.
Toyota was up 1.57 percent at 7,429.0 yen while Sony rose 1.53 percent to 2,640.0 yen.
On Wall Street the Dow edged marginally higher Friday to a new record and the Nasdaq added 0.09 percent but the S&P 500 slid 0.25 percent. (AFP)
