Tokyo stocks open higher after Wall St rally

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday, following rises on Wall Street, as data showed the world's third-biggest economy was growing faster than analysts had expected.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.68% to 20 733.46 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.63% at 1 508.13.

"US stocks rose sharply, providing relief and support to the Tokyo market," said Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

The stronger-than-expected GDP data also helped boost the market, he said.

"The reading of the data itself was not a huge buying peg... but nonetheless it confirmed personal spending could pick up," he said.

Official data showed gross domestic product (GDP) in the world's third-biggest economy grew 0.4% from the previous quarter on robust consumer demand, beating analysts' median forecast of 0.1%.

Japan had an unprecedented string of 10 holidays around the May 1 enthronement of the new emperor, igniting travel and other leisure demand.

In currency trade, the yen remained strong, capping buying in stocks.

The dollar changed hands at ¥105.99 against ¥106.06 in New York on Thursday afternoon.

IT investor SoftBank Group rose 1.01% to ¥5 098 and Toyota was up 0.60% at ¥6 851.