TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended higher on Friday, shrugging off falls on Wall Street as investors shifted focus to Japanese corporate earnings reports.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.27 percent, or 389.91 points, to end at 30,991.69, while the broader Topix index jumped 1.37 percent, or 30.40 points, at 2,254.65.
The dollar fetched 150.09 yen, against against 150.35 yen in New York late Thursday. Japanese earnings season kicks off next week with results from Toyota amongst others.
After the US market closed, shares for Amazon and Intel surged in after-hours trade on the back of blockbuster earnings. This, coupled with a desire to rebound from sharp losses from the previous day, “helped incrementally widen gains” in Tokyo, IwaiCosmo Securities said.
Traders are also closely watching the Bank of Japan’s policy decision due on Tuesday. On Friday, with the dollar trading above the 150-yen threshold, “traders remained vigilant for signs of currency intervention in anticipation of Tuesday’s Bank of Japan’s upcoming policy meeting,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said.
Among major shares in Tokyo, SoftBank Group added 1.58 percent to 6,140 yen, Toyota gained 1.69 percent to 2,638.5 yen and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing rose 0.66 percent to 33,360 yen.
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