Tokyo shares up 0.28pc by noon

The Nikkei-225 index rose 27.35 points to 9,624.09. The Topix index of all first-section issues firmed 0.28 percent, or 2.34 points, to 827.85.

News that Greece had agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union on a five-year austerity programme in a bid to ease the nation's debt crisis also encouraged investors, dealers said.

Dealers have grown optimistic about a faster-than-expected recovery in supply chains in Japan after the disaster, as underscored by relatively solid automaker earnings forecasts.

"The improvement in earnings outlooks has triggered a shift in buying in large-cap stocks from small and medium-sized shares," Okasan Securities strategist Hideyuki Ishiguro told Dow Jones Newswires.

Nissan said Thursday it expected a 15 percent fall in annual net profit for the year to March 2012 but saw global sales rising 9.9 percent to a record 4.6 million units. It said full production would return in October following massive disruption to supplies caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Toyota shares rose 0.76 percent to 3,275 yen by the break, Nissan fell 0.59 percent to 834 yen with investors digesting the earnings news that came after the market closed Thursday.

Energy issues lost ground following a sharp drop in US crude futures contracts after the International Energy Agency's decision to release 60 million barrels of oil into world markets.

Oil and gas exploration company Inpex was down 1.05 percent at 564,000.

However, shipping firms were higher. Nippon Yusen was up 2.37 percent at 302 and Mitsui OSK Lines gained 3.46 percent to 418 yen.

US stocks were mixed on Thursday, recovering ground after steep initial losses spurred by a series of gloomy economic reports from the United States, Europe and China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59.67 points (0.49 percent) to close at 12,050.00.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011