TOKYO: Tokyo stocks surged 0.52 per cent after fresh record highs on Wall Street and as the weak yen boosted exporters.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday added 87.90 points to finish at 16,880.38, while the Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 0.54 per cent, or 7.32 points, to 1,363.67.
Japanese traders resumed their rally after Thursday’s profit-taking, which marked the first loss after a five-session run that saw the Nikkei tack on more than 10 per cent.
Analysts said the market still had energy after last Friday’s surprise announcement from the Bank of Japan that it would ramp up its bond-buying stimulus scheme – known as quantitative easing – which effectively prints cash.
The news has sent the yen tumbling. On Friday, the US dollar bought Y115.34, up from Y115.16 in New York and sharply higher than around Y109 before the BoJ move.
A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and inflates profits when repatriated.
In share trade, Toyota edged up 0.07 per cent to Y6,817.0, Sony rose 1.21 per cent to Y2,258.0 and Canon gained 0.63 per cent to Y3,554.0.
Takata tumbled 7.26 per cent to Y1,416 a day after the auto parts-maker warned of a bigger-than-expected annual loss.
Wall Street provided a strong lead ahead of the release later on Friday of closely watched October jobs data, with expectations for a healthy gain.
