Tokyo - Stocks opened higher Monday in Tokyo as the market sentiment was cheered by the US government's 700-billion-dollar bailout plan to clean up bad assets.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 236.04 points, or 1.98 per cent, to 12,156.9.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also rose 25.58 points, or 2.23 per cent, to 1,174.7.

The Bank of Japan pumped 1.5 trillion yen (13.97 billion dollars) into the Tokyo money market Monday.

Japan's central bank conducted an emergency operation totalling 12.5 trillion yen since the US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed for bankruptcy last week.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 106.80-85 yen, down from Friday's 5 pm quote of 107.22-25 yen.

The euro was quoted at 1.4488-93 dollars, up from Friday's 5 pm quote of 1.4210-11 dollars, and at 154.75-80 yen, up from 152.38-42 yen. (dpa)