TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose, paring a weekly loss by the Topix index, as investors await a weekend referendum in Greece and after jobs data signaled a more moderate pace of growth in the U.S. economy.
Fast Retailing Co. sank 3.7 percent after saying sales at its Uniqlo brand stores fell in June. Furukawa Electric Co. slumped 3.2 percent after Morgan Stanley reduced its rating on the cable maker. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. added 2.3 percent after a report the lender will set a target for reducing cross-held shares. FamilyMart Co. gained 1.2 percent after the retailer reported operating profit that beat analyst estimates.
The Topix climbed 0.2 percent to 1,652.09 at the close of trading in Tokyo after earlier falling as much as 0.2 percent. The measure lost 0.9 percent this week. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 percent to 20,539.79, posting a 0.8 percent drop this week.
The U.S. jobs data isn’t “a reason for the Federal Reserve to hurry into raising interest rates,” Nobuhiko Kuramochi, head of investment information at Mizuho Securities Co. said by phone. “Polls on the Greek vote show that the results are in the balance. It’s difficult for investors to move on Japanese stocks with major events ahead of us.”
Global equities are headed for the first weekly decline in a month after Greece roiled financial markets by calling a plebiscite on austerity demands, in turn missing a debt payment to the International Monetary Fund. U.S. payrolls data indicated the economy is improving slowly, with more jobs being created even as wages stagnate.
