TOKYO, Nov 7, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday as global market sentiment improved on solid US jobs data and hopes for an economic reopening in China.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.66 percent, or 178.65 points, at 27,378.39 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 0.75 percent, or 14.27 points, to 1,929.67.

The dollar stood at 146.85 yen, against 146.62 yen in New York on Friday.

Chinese stocks climbed Friday on unsubstantiated speculation that Beijing is poised to unveil significant changes to its zero-Covid policy or even set forth a path towards a full reopening.

Rumours of the shift were denied over the weekend, with a National Health Commission spokesperson confirming that the country would "stick unswervingly to... the overall policy".

Still, "notions that China will pivot to living with Covid in the new year are likely to remain given the significant economic cost of zero-Covid", said Tapas Strickland, head of market economics at National Australia Banks.

On Friday, Wall Street stocks closed sharply higher following good jobs data that was seen as keeping the pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates more.

American employers added 261,000 workers last month, far more than economists had forecast.

Among major shares in Tokyo, SoftBank Group added 0.77 percent to 6,608 yen, Toyota rose 0.65 percent to 1,998 yen and Sony Group advanced 1.54 percent to 10,865 yen.

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing was up 0.30 percent to 82,850 yen.