Tokyo stocks sharply higher in early trade

Tokyo stocks have opened higher following a strong rally on Wall Street after the US central bank unveiled an aggressive stimulus plan.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was 1.39 per cent, or 125.08 points, higher at 9,120.23 in the first 50 minutes of trading on Friday.

US stocks soared on Thursday after the Federal Reserve announced a new "QE3" bond-buying program focused on boosting jobs and pulling the housing market back to life.

After trading flat before the Fed's announcement, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 206.51 points (1.55 per cent) at 13,539.86.

The open-ended nature of the quantitative easing policy to keep interest rate low mirrors the European Central Bank's action earlier, said Hiroyuki Fukunaga, CEO of asset manager Investrust.

The European Central Bank's governing council has agreed on a new program to buy unlimited amounts of heavily indebted countries' sovereign bonds in a bid to bring down their borrowing costs.

"The combined actions are giving the markets a much-needed sense of stability, and should help keep share prices supported for at least the next several sessions, if not longer," Fukunaga told Dow Jones Newswires.

The euro fetched $US1.2991 and Y100.82 in early Asian trade, compared with $US1.2986 and Y100.61 in New York late on Thursday. The dollar was at Y77.62 from Y77.48 in US trade.

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