TOKYO: Japan’s Topix index rose in the final 15 minutes of trading, paring a weekly decline, amid low volume ahead of a U.S. jobs report. Tiremakers rose while agricultural shares declined.
Bridgestone Corp. added 3.3 percent as the Topix Rubber Products Index gained the most among the broader gauge’s 33 industry groups. Aeon Co. climbed 2.1 percent after a report its first-half operating profit rose 70 percent from the previous year. Horiba Ltd. increased 4.2 percent after a Bloomberg report highlighted how the company’s measuring equipment helped uncover the Volkswagen AG emissions scandal. Fisheries company Maruha Nichiro Corp. lost 4 percent.
The Topix increased 0.2 percent to 1,444.92 at the close in Tokyo, erasing a decline of as much as 1.1 percent, on volume 28 percent below the 30-day average. The measure fell 0.6 percent in the past five days, its third straight weekly drop. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average was little changed at 17,725.13 on Friday. Data on U.S. jobs are due, with economists forecasting employers to have added 201,000 workers in September after a gain of 173,000 in August. The Federal Reserve will weigh the report when making its next rate decision on Oct. 28.
“There are dark spots in the U.S. economy,” said Masayuki Doshida, a senior market analyst at Rakuten Economic Research Institute. “The focus is on whether this is just a passing trend or whether it’s a medium to long-term deceleration caused by the worsening economic situation in China and emerging countries. Currently, the view that it’s temporary is strong.”
