AFP, Tokyo :
Tokyo investors will watch closely a set of demand-linked data in Japan next week for clues on the health of the economy after it tipped into recession last year, while US data will also be in focus.
Dealers are awaiting Japan’s auto sales data for January expected on Monday and household income data due Wednesday “to see the extent of rise in winter bonus and overtime work provisions,” Nomura Securities said in a statement.
The brokerage noted that real wages are not increasing despite rises in consumer prices.
US payrolls data due to be released Friday next week will be in focus for possible clues as to the US Federal Reserve’s next move, it said, with speculation the Fed could raise interest rates later this year.
On Friday, the Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 0.39 percent, or 68.17 points at 17,674.39. Over the week, the benchmark index gained 0.93 percent.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.11 percent, or 1.49 points, to end at 1,415.07. It tacked on 0.84 percent for the week.
“There is growing confidence in the US economy… Employment has gotten better and the effects from cheaper oil have yet to come,” Shigetoshi Kamata, general manager of the research department at Tachibana Securities, told Bloomberg News.
Tokyo investors will watch closely a set of demand-linked data in Japan next week for clues on the health of the economy after it tipped into recession last year, while US data will also be in focus.
Dealers are awaiting Japan’s auto sales data for January expected on Monday and household income data due Wednesday “to see the extent of rise in winter bonus and overtime work provisions,” Nomura Securities said in a statement.
The brokerage noted that real wages are not increasing despite rises in consumer prices.
US payrolls data due to be released Friday next week will be in focus for possible clues as to the US Federal Reserve’s next move, it said, with speculation the Fed could raise interest rates later this year.
On Friday, the Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 0.39 percent, or 68.17 points at 17,674.39. Over the week, the benchmark index gained 0.93 percent.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.11 percent, or 1.49 points, to end at 1,415.07. It tacked on 0.84 percent for the week.
“There is growing confidence in the US economy… Employment has gotten better and the effects from cheaper oil have yet to come,” Shigetoshi Kamata, general manager of the research department at Tachibana Securities, told Bloomberg News.
