Tokyo - Markets in Japan opened stronger Thursday, following positive signals from Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 49.34 points, or 0.62 per cent to 8053.44 at mid-trading, also carried up by speculation over a possible merger of Nippon Oil Corp and Nippon Mining Holdings. The broader Topix index rose by 0.1 per cent to 799.96.

On currency markets at midday (0300 GMT) the dollar was quoted at 93.11-16 yen, down from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 93.30-32 yen.

The euro was quoted at 1.2702-07 dollars, up from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 1.2695-97 dollars, but was down to 118.33-38 yen from 118.45-49 yen. (dpa)