TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose 0.40 percent Friday morning as investors welcomed robust corporate earnings figures while awaiting more results.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 35.62 points to 8,885.09 by the break. The Topix index of all first-section issues added 1.71 points or 0.22 percent to 766.32.
But shares stayed rangebound following declines in US shares Thursday on data including weaker-than-expected December home sales.
"Extreme optimism has now faded," Chibagin Asset Management strategist Yoshihiro Okumura said, adding that the wait-and-see market mood had intensified ahead of forthcoming earnings releases.
KDDI was one of the heaviest-weighted positive contributors, rising 1.43 percent to 494,000 after announcing late Thursday its sales and profits grew in the nine months to December following the introduction of the iPhone.
Strong sales of Apple's popular gadget and other smartphones allowed the carrier to increase its full-year revenue target.
But Nintendo and NEC fell sharply after announcing net losses.
Nintendo tumbled 4.65 percent to 10,250 yen by the break, after at one point falling below 10,000 yen for the first time since 2004. Electronics giant NEC plunged 7.14 percent to 156 yen.
Earnings from Nippon Steel, due later Friday during trading hours, were on watch, Okumura said.
Nippon Steel, which will become the world's second-largest steel maker later this year after a merger with a smaller domestic rival, was down 1.49 percent at 198 yen by midday.
Investors were also waiting US economic growth numbers for the final three months of 2011, which will be released later Friday.
On Thursday the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.18 percent at 12,734.63 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.46 percent to 2,805.28.
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