Japan's Nikkei stock average ended marginally higher on Friday to extend gains into a fifth day, with investors reluctant to actively buy stocks ahead of a Group of 20 meeting and a long weekend in the United States. Market watchers said worries over unrest in the Middle East also limited gains in the Nikkei, which closed up 0.1 percent. It has rallied 6 percent so far this year, making it the best-performing Asian market.
"It's an obvious breather after the market has gained so much recently," said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Inc. "The time for such a break is perfect, because investors want to re-adjust their positions according to what happens in the Middle East, with the G20 summit and after a longer market break in the US," he said.
US markets will be closed on Monday for George Washington's birthday. A two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bankers of G20 economic powers starts in Paris on Friday. The Nikkei rose 6.16 points to 10,842.80, gaining for a fifth day to mark the longest winning streak since June. The broader Topix index finished 0.1 percent lower at 973.60, with declining shares outnumbering gainers 835 to 673.
Volume was moderate, with around 2.16 billion issues changing hands on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board, exceeding two billion shares for a tenth day. Average daily volume for the week came to 2.26 billion, up from last week's 2.16 billion. Japanese stocks are trading at 1.1 times current book value, below the global equity markets average of 2 times, data from Thomson Reuters StarMine showed. Energy and commodities stocks, such as Japan's biggest oil and gas developer Inpex Corp, outperformed as turmoil in the Middle East turmoil sent the price of oil higher.