Tokyo stocks open up 0.81%

Tokyo stocks opened 0.81 percent higher on Friday, extending their recent gains on a weaker yen and expectations that the Bank of Japan would take more easing steps. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which closed Thursday at its highest level since the quake-tsunami disaster in March last year, was up 83.38 points to 10,406.36 at the start. The bullish opening came despite industry ministry data released early Friday that showed Japan's factory output in November fell by a worse-than-expected 1.7 percent on month. The yen sank further in early Asian trade. The dollar was trading at 86.42 yen, up from 86.09 yen in New York Thursday afternoon, hovering around its highest level since August 2010. The euro was at 114.50 yen and $1.3248 against 113.97 yen and $1.3235 in US trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session down 0.14 percent at 13,096.31 on Thursday in the absence of a deal to avert a "fiscal cliff" crisis as the end-of-year deadline crept closer.