Tokyo stocks higher

Tokyo stocks closed higher on Thursday, taking a positive lead from record-setting gains on Wall Street, with investors waiting for the release of US unemployment figures. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.30 percent, or 64.29 points, to 21,702.45, while the broader Topix index was up 0.65 percent, or 10.24 points, at 1,589.78.
"The New York Dow's renewing its record was certainly positive news for Tokyo," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities. All three major stock indices on Wall Street ended at records after a plethora of mediocre US economic data appeared to boost the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
"But the rate cut expectations raised concerns over a rise in the yen against the dollar, which limited today's gains," Horiuchi told AFP. Trading was stagnant "as many players were on the sidelines, focusing on the release of US unemployment figures" scheduled for Friday, he said. In individual stocks trade, technology investor SoftBank Group jumped 3.44 percent to 5,350 yen, Sony gained 1.02 percent to 5,895 yen and Toyota rose 0.68 percent to 6,868 yen. The dollar was trading at 107.82 yen in Asian afternoon trade against 107.84 yen in New York Wednesday.