Tokyo: Tokyo stocks opened 0.79 percent higher Friday after Europe`s main markets closed mixed overnight as investors digested the OPEC decision not to cut oil output and the prospect of quantitative easing in the eurozone.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 136.33 points at 17,384.83 in the first minutes of trading.
Japanese stocks are likely to trade in a narrow range, with US markets closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, analysts said.
"Shares remain somewhat overbought, as the Nikkei is still trading well above its 25-day moving average," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"With reduced participation today from foreign investors, another round of profit-taking is possible, if not likely," he said.
A series of Japanese data issued minutes before the opening bell showed a mixed picture, with factory output in October edging up a better-than-expected 0.2 percent on-month, while household spending in October fell 0.4 percent on-year, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline.
The dollar was trading modestly higher at 117.98 yen against 117.74 yen in London.
Europe`s main stock markets closed mixed on Thursday, with London`s benchmark FTSE 100 index slipping 0.09 percent to end the day at 6,723.42 points.
The Paris CAC 40 rose 0.20 percent to 4,382.34 points, while in Frankfurt the DAX 30 climbed 0.60 percent to 9,974.87.
