AFP, Tokyo :
Tokyo stocks closed higher on Friday, following rallies on Wall Street as investor sentiment improved, while traders also remained cautious ahead of a long weekend.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.97 percent or 195.90 points to end at 20,359.70. It rose 4.07 percent over the week.
The broader Topix index was up 0.51 percent or 7.72 points at 1,529.73. It climbed 3.98 percent over the week.
“The Tokyo market opened higher tracking the five-day winning streak of US shares. Shares also rose as the yen’s rise took a breather,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.
Tokyo markets will be closed on Monday for the a public holiday.
The dollar changed hands at 108.37 yen in Asian trade, against 108.17 yen in New York.
In Tokyo, Hitachi soared 8.63 percent to 3,346 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported that the company decided to freeze its plan to build a nuclear power plant in the UK. Nissan was up 0.85 percent at 905.5 yen after Tokyo prosecutors filed two new charges of financial misconduct against former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn.
Prosecutors also filed a second charge against Nissan itself for its alleged role in under-reporting Ghosn’s pay.
Rival automakers were also higher, with Toyota and Honda up 1.74 percent to 6,821 yen and 2.42 percent to 3,170 yen, respectively.
Olympus, which announced the appointment of the new CEO, jumped 9.87 percent to 4,005 yen.
Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing rose 6.18 percent to 55,280 yen after the company said its sales in December jumped 5.2 percent on-year.
Yasukawa Electric, a leading manufacturer of motors and industrial robots, gained 1.93 percent to 2,693 yen after it reported record third-quarter profits and sales.
Investors largely shrugged off household spending data released before the opening bell, which said spending in November slipped 0.6 percent from a year earlier.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.5 percent at 24,001.92.
Tokyo stocks closed higher on Friday, following rallies on Wall Street as investor sentiment improved, while traders also remained cautious ahead of a long weekend.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.97 percent or 195.90 points to end at 20,359.70. It rose 4.07 percent over the week.
The broader Topix index was up 0.51 percent or 7.72 points at 1,529.73. It climbed 3.98 percent over the week.
“The Tokyo market opened higher tracking the five-day winning streak of US shares. Shares also rose as the yen’s rise took a breather,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.
Tokyo markets will be closed on Monday for the a public holiday.
The dollar changed hands at 108.37 yen in Asian trade, against 108.17 yen in New York.
In Tokyo, Hitachi soared 8.63 percent to 3,346 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported that the company decided to freeze its plan to build a nuclear power plant in the UK. Nissan was up 0.85 percent at 905.5 yen after Tokyo prosecutors filed two new charges of financial misconduct against former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn.
Prosecutors also filed a second charge against Nissan itself for its alleged role in under-reporting Ghosn’s pay.
Rival automakers were also higher, with Toyota and Honda up 1.74 percent to 6,821 yen and 2.42 percent to 3,170 yen, respectively.
Olympus, which announced the appointment of the new CEO, jumped 9.87 percent to 4,005 yen.
Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing rose 6.18 percent to 55,280 yen after the company said its sales in December jumped 5.2 percent on-year.
Yasukawa Electric, a leading manufacturer of motors and industrial robots, gained 1.93 percent to 2,693 yen after it reported record third-quarter profits and sales.
Investors largely shrugged off household spending data released before the opening bell, which said spending in November slipped 0.6 percent from a year earlier.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.5 percent at 24,001.92.
