Tokyo’s key Nikkei index inches down at close

TOKYO: Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index barely changed on Friday, with investors gravitating towards profit-taking but also cheered by a weaker yen.

The Nikkei 225 index inched down 11.81 points to 28,930.33, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.20 percent, or 4.02 points, to 1,994.52.

The dollar fetched 136.31 yen, compared with 135.88 yen seen late Thursday.

Stocks rose in early trade, with investors heartened by gains on Wall Street and the weakening yen, Okasan Online Securities said.

But then “profit-taking sales curbed gains, at times pushing the market into negative territory”, the brokerage said.

Investors will monitor the annual conference of bankers and finance chiefs in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, next week for hints about the pace of US interest-rate hikes, as hopes grow that inflation could be peaking.

Japanese stocks gain as BOJ retains easy policy stance

Among major shares in Tokyo, Sony Group added 2.12 percent to 12,000 yen, while Tokyo Electron, which produces tools to build semiconductors, added 1.48 percent to 46,600 yen.

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing fell 1.24 percent to 85,550 yen.

SoftBank Group slid 0.87 percent to 5,764 yen, and e-commerce firm Rakuten lost 1.39 percent to 707 yen.