TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened 0.37 percent higher on Monday with market players jittery over Syria while the dollar was slightly higher against the yen.
The Nikkei 225 index was up 49.21 points to 13,438.07 at the start.
The benchmark index is likely to trade in a narrow range Monday after US stocks faltered again Friday, extending the biggest monthly slide in more than a year for major benchmarks, brokers said.
Syria's deepening civil conflict and the likelihood of US military intervention is also keeping investors from aggressively buying stocks.
The dollar rose modestly, however, changing hands at 98.40 yen early Monday from 98.16 yen in New York Friday afternoon. A lower yen is advantageous for Japanese exporters as it makes their products more competitive abroad while increasing repatriated income.
"Jitters over Syria as well as the generally overheated condition of US bourses in the face of looming bond-buying tapering by the US Fed are working to keep the sell pressure on equities, although a higher dollar should be able to mitigate some of the falls," said SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi.
"Short-term, all eyes are on the US Congress to see if approval for military action gets the green light."
Nishi said the Labor Day holiday in the United States on Monday was also likely to result in a fairly low participation for Japanese shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.21 percent to 14,810.31 on Friday.
-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this article --
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