Tokyo stocks open higher, dragged high by Wall St

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday, with investor sentiment buoyed by fresh record-setting advances on Wall Street and likely to continue throughout the week, according to analysts.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.19 percent or 46.64 points to 24,087.90 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.35 percent or 6.05 points at 1,741.49.

"Japanese stocks are expected to stay firm this week thanks to a positive environment," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary, adding that bullish US stocks were driving Tokyo's strength.

Wall Street stocks again finished at records on Friday on the back of a US-China trade deal signed last week, robust US economic data and mostly solid corporate earnings.

The trade agreement was skewed in favour of Washington, noted Chief market strategist Masayuki Kubota at Rakuten Securities, spawning speculation that China might not to be able to keep its promises.

The next stage of USChina trade talks will be tougher as China is unlikely to budge further, he said.

"Nonetheless, the flawed 'phase-one agreement' is a fair wind for the global economy over a short period," Kubota added.

"We believe stock prices will continue to be higher globally in the first half of 2020 with easing in US-China tensions leading to expectations for a recovery in the world economy," he said in a note.

The dollar held steady, trading at 110.18 yen against 110.12 yen in New York on Friday afternoon.

The Bank of Japan starts a two-day policy meeting Monday but is widely expected to stand pat.

In individual stocks trade, ANA Holdings rose 0.85 percent to 3,671 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported All Nippon Airways is entering a comprehensive tie-up with Singapore Airlines to join forces to fend off competition in an increasingly crowded Southeast Asian market.

Sony was up 1.08 percent at 8,010 yen while Toshiba fell 4.17 percent to 3,790 yen after the company reported that a subsidiary padded sales by 20 billion yen ($181 million).

Global equities rose on Friday, with Wall Street stocks ending at fresh records, as solid Chinese economic data brightened the global outlook following the landmark US-China trade deal earlier in the week.

European markets were all higher following signs the Chinese economy is stabilizing.

"China released some broadly positive economic reports, which has boosted sentiment around the globe," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.

Apart from a blip last week caused by the US killing of Iran's top general, markets have had a strong start to the new decade, building on the rally of late 2019.

The gains have been fanned by the "phase one" trade agreement signed this week by the United States and China as well as signs of improvement in various economies, lower interest rates, government stimulus and easing Brexit concerns.

The prospect of a healthy batch of corporate earnings means there are hopes for further advances as well.

Analysts see few economic clouds on the horizon in the short term but worry that high stock valuations could prompt a selloff.

Beijing contributed to the feel-good atmosphere, releasing data that said the world's second biggest economy expanded by 6.1 percent last year.