TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose 0.47 percent Friday morning as a weak yen gave the market a lift ahead of the release of a much anticipated US jobs report later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 89.62 points to 19,206.03 by the break, on track for its best close in more than two months.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares was up 0.31 percent, or 4.79 points, to 1,559.89.
Tokyo shrugged off a fall in New York on the eve of the US October jobs report, seen as a litmus test for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate lift-off.
“If today’s jobs report is at a level that’s in line with estimates, the probability for a rate hike this year will increase,” Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura Holdings, told Bloomberg News.
“The yen is weakening amid this speculation for higher interest rates, and that’s a plus for Japan. However, stocks may struggle to move higher today as we’re in a wait-and-see mood ahead of the report.”
A weak yen tends to be a plus for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive overseas and inflates the value of repatriated profits.
In share trading, market heavyweight Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain, was up 0.53 percent to 45,010 yen, while electronics giant Toshiba ticked 0.42 percent higher to 332.8 yen ahead of its half-year earnings release Saturday.
Toyota edged down 0.01 percent to 7,494 yen as the auto giant lowered its fiscal year sales target against the backdrop of slower economic growth in emerging markets.
Embattled airbag maker Takata took another beating Friday, plummeting nearly 13 percent to 780 yen ($6.50) by the break, leaving it down by half from its price earlier this week.
The three-day rout came after more car manufacturers — including Mazda and Mitsubishi Motors — signalled the they are considering not to use it as an airbag parts supplier for their new models. An airbag fault has been linked to at least eight deaths and scores of injuries globally.
In currency markets, the dollar ticked down to 121.68 yen from 121.74 yen Thursday in New York, but was still up from rates below 120 yen in recent weeks.
The euro rose to $1.0890 and 132.51 yen from $1.0881 and 132.46 yen in US trade.
In US trading overnight, the Dow lost 0.02 percent, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.11 percent and the Nasdaq fell 0.29 percent.
