Tokyo stocks open higher

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday, taking a positive lead from European and US markets as they shrugged off an Italian referendum outcome that led to the resignation of the prime minister.

Moving past the Italian vote, investors cheered strong US services-sector data, which attested to the strength of the world's top economy.

The Institute for Supply Management reported on Monday that the US service sector saw growth accelerate at the fastest pace in over a year in November as employment and export orders rose.

"The favourable ISM non-manufacturing data from the US will once again breathe life into stocks," said Toshihiko Matsuno, a senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Company.

"After experiencing surprise outcomes like Brexit, investors have shown a tendency to reduce their positions ahead of news events, leading to price declines, but we are still in the midst of a continuing Trump-driven rally," he told Bloomberg News.

Donald Trump's surprise win of US presidency has sparked rallies of equity markets and the dollar on expectations of higher fiscal spending and higher interest rates.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 185.19 points, to 18 460.18 in the first few minutes of Tuesday's trade while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues was up 14.52 points, at 1 481.48.

The higher opening after two days of losses came on the heels of gains on overseas markets.

European stocks and the euro rebounded on Monday as investors shrugged off the Italian vote outcome.

US stocks notched strong gains, with the Dow climbing to its second record in three days and the tech-rich Nasdaq adding one percent.

The dollar was trading at ¥113.71 early on Tuesday against ¥113.77 in New York on Monday afternoon.