The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.92 percent, or 207.33 points, to 22,760.55 in early trade. "Investors are welcoming progress in the US tax cut talks," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities. Wall Street stocks pushed to fresh records Friday as key congressional holdouts on a US tax cut proposal signalled their support, pushing the long-awaited measure closer to the finish line. Exporters were generally higher as Toyota rose 1.24 percent to 7,053 yen with Panasonic up 0.89 percent at 1,683.5 yen. The dollar traded at 112.68 yen, compared with 112.63 yen in New York late Friday.

Source: The Nation Bangkok December 18, 2017 00:45 UTC