TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed 0.18 per cent higher, after another rally on Wall Street.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 30.63 points to finish at 17,197.73 on Friday, while the Topix index of all first-section issues ended up 0.21 per cent, or 2.91 points, at 1,380.58.
Japanese investors were given a strong lead from Wall Street, where stocks soared for a second consecutive day.
The rise came as a recent fall in oil prices slowed and the US dollar advanced as the US Federal Reserve plots an interest rate hike.
Expectations the European Central Bank will soon unveil a huge bond-buying scheme also provided strong support.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.84 per cent while the broad-based S&P 500 jumped 1.79 per cent.
But the Nikkei gradually gave up most of its early gains and temporarily dipped into negative territory shortly before the close before a three-day holiday weekend in Japan.
Investors are keeping a close eye on a US jobs report due later in the day, with forecasts for another sharp rise in new positions, giving the Fed more ammunition to lift interest rates.
“America hasn’t begun raising interest rates yet, and as long as Japan and ECB keep answering the market’s strong desire for stimulus and flooding it with money, the outlook for financial markets shouldcontinue to be strong,” Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News.
“However, there’s a limit to that. At some point the focus will eventually shift to earnings.”
On currency markets, the US dollar slipped to 119.34 yen from 119.65 yen in New York.
Fast Retailing shares ended 0.79 per cent higher at 44,760 yen, off from the intraday high of 46,325, after it reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings with profit soaring 64 per cent to 68.8 billion yen.
The firm pointed to strong sales at its cheap chic Uniqlo clothing chain.
Honda rose 1.14 per cent to 3,531.5 yen, despite news that US auto safety regulators fined the automaker a record $70 million for failing to report driver deaths, injuries and vehicle complaints to the government.
Rival Toyota added 0.72 per cent to 7,609 yen while Sony rose 1.33 per cent to 2,599 yen.
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