( dpa ) - Tokyo stocks opened higher Tuesday with the key Nikkei index rising above the 14,000 level at one point during morning trading following the US market's biggest rally of the month.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 68.94 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 13,983.51 after topping 14,000 for the first time since January. The index surged more than 400 points, or 3 per cent, on Monday.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 6.95 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,362.49.
Investors bought insurance and banking issues after US rating agency Standard & Poor's kept top AAA debt ratings for the nation's largest bond insurers.
On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 108.03-08 yen, up from Monday's 5 pm quote of 107.44-46 yen.
The euro was quoted at 1.4832-37 dollars, up from Monday's 5 pm quote of 1.4813-15 dollars, and at 160.24-29 yen, up from 159.16-20 yen.