Tokyo markets end higher

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended higher on Friday as investors took heart from rallies on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.87 percent, or 284.30 points, to end at 32,970.55, while the broader Topix index added 0.47 percent, or 10.93 points, to 2,332.28.

The dollar fetched 141.87 yen, against 141.87 yen in New York and 141.40 yen in Tokyo late Thursday — levels much higher than the 145.80 yen on Wednesday.

Overnight on Wall Street, all three major indices ended higher following solid US retail sales and central bank moves to hold interest rates steady.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 37,248.35, up 0.4 percent, its second straight record close. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2 percent.

The Tokyo market “took cues from rallies in Wall Street and the upward momentum in major Asian markets as well,” Daiwa Securities said. In the United States, “laggards in the economy-sensitive stocks rose sharply, while in the Japanese market, there was surging interest in buying shares of the automobile, shipping and other sectors,” according to IwaiCosmo Securities.

Among major shares in Tokyo, SoftBank Group surged 2.62 percent to 6,088 yen, Sony Group jumped 3.12 percent to 13,365 yen and Toyota rose 1.12 percent to 2,600.5 yen. Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing edged up 0.33 percent to 35,580 yen.