Tokyo shares up 1.25pc by noon

The benchmark Nikkei index rose 118.44 points to 9,585.59 by the lunch break. The Topix index of all first-section issues went up 1.10 percent or 8.97 points to 821.92.

The Nikkei is likely to be supported Friday by an overnight rise in US stocks and a relatively weak yen, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager of investment strategy at Daiwa Securities.

US stocks recovered from their June weakness on Thursday, lifted by an unexpected narrowing of the US trade deficit in April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63 percent, ending six straight sessions of losses since the month began.

Takahashi said the release of Chinese trade numbers later Friday and their effect on China-linked shares such as construction machinery maker Komatsu will be worth watching for signs of a Chinese economic slowdown.

Daiwa Securities Capital Markets said in a research report that it believed the Nikkei index was a bottoming process following the steep post-quake 11 percent fall of March 15.

"The Tokyo stock market appears set to pick up and recover the 26-week moving average down the road (around 10,037)," it said.

The dollar fetched 80.08 yen in Tokyo morning trade, down from 80.31 in New York late Thursday but still up from levels below 80.00 yen a day earlier.

Toyota Motor shares rose 1.68pc to 3,325 yen ahead of its announcement of its earnings forecast later in the day.

Shares in Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of a tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant, fell a further 1.04 percent to end the morning session at 190 yen after renewing its closing low Thursday.

Nintendo continued its recent slide, down 1.73 percent to 15,880 yen on the Osaka Securities Exchange amid investor concerns over the entertainment giant's strategy in the face of increasing gaming competition from social networks and smartphones.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011