Techs lead gains in Tokyo
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japanese stocks are higher at midday Monday as investors chase exporters and tech stocks.
That comes after surprisingly strong U.S. jobs data lifted Wall Street Friday and boosted the dollar against the yen.
The Nikkei 225 average is up 1.45 percent to 11,986.82 at the end of the morning session, with good gains for big exporters such as Sony and Nissan.
The dollar is trading at 104.35 yen in Tokyo, up from a four-year low of 103.40 yen hit last Wednesday.
Consumer electronics giant Sony is 3 percent ahead to 4470 yen and automaker Nissan is 3.5 percent higher to 1201 yen.
Other big tech-related gainers include Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC Electronics and Kyocera, which are all more than 4 percent higher.
The broader Topix index is up 1.42 percent to 1201.06. This is the first time it has gone above 1200 on an intraday basis since August 14, 2001.
On Friday, the Nikkei rose 1.13 percent to finish at 11,815.95, its highest close since June 3, 2002.
The Nikkei is now within sight of 12,000, a level it last traded above on May 27, 2002, on an intraday basis.
The market's biggest stock, Toyota Motor Corp, is 2.3 percent higher to 3870 yen.
Another heavyweight stock, mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo, is 3.9 percent ahead to 238,000 yen.
But Japan's largest banking group Mizuho Financial Group is steady at 457,000 yen.
Elsewhere in the region, there are modest gains for Australia, Singapore and Taiwan, while New Zealand is just in the red.
Markets in South Korea, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka are closed Monday for national holidays. Indonesia is closed because of parliamentary elections.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 is 0.22 percent higher to 3446.1. Telstra is down 0.66 percent after confirming it is in talks to acquire computer company Kaz.
BHP Billiton is up almost 2 percent to A$12.73.
In Taiwan, the Taiex is 0.67 percent higher to 6589.14. There are solid gains for chip foundries TSMC and UMC.
Singapore's Straits Times index is flat at 1878.83. SingTel is showing a gain of 0.4 percent to S$2.34.
The moves in Asia Monday follow a strong close on Wall Street Friday. That came after a U.S. jobs report showed non-farm farm payrolls added 308,000 jobs in March.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.94 percent to 10,470.59, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq put on 2.09 percent to 2,057.17.
The job gains also lifted the dollar as investors weighed recovery prospects for the world's biggest economy.
