Tokyo Shares Close Higher

AFP/APP 

Tokyo: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, with support coming from a weaker yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.21 percent, or 80.92 points, to 39,523.55, while the broader Topix index added 0.46 percent, or 12.68 points, to 2,759.64.

Investors welcomed a rally in New York, where tech titans including Apple and Amazon helped the Nasdaq pile on 1.7 percent.

“Major semiconductor shares… attracted buyers, sending the Nikkei to open significantly higher,” IwaiCosmo Securities said.

Japanese exporters were boosted after the dollar spiked to a new 34-year high of 153.39 yen, owing to dimming expectations over US interest rate cuts. 

Tokyo Electron added 1.49 percent to 39,500 yen, and Advantest rose 0.87 percent to 6,017 yen.

Apple suppliers advanced following news that the firm plans to overhaul its range of Mac computers. Murata Manufacturing jumped 2.76 percent to 2,830.5 yen.

Fujifilm Holdings rose 3.41 percent to 3,488 yen as it announced an additional investment of $1.2 billion in a planned biotech plant in the US state of North Carolina.

But the headline index was pressured by losses in market heavyweight Fast Retailing, which tumbled 4.40 percent to 42,160 yen on disappointing earnings.