Tokyo: Tokyo stocks closed slightly higher on Friday, helped by the yen’s downward trend, while Sharp soared more than 15 percent after saying it would cancel a share issuance plan.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.15 percent or 34.12 points to end at 22,304.51. Over the week, the index fell 0.94 percent.
The broader Topix index rose 0.23 percent or 3.89 points to 1,730.89. Over the week, it was down 0.80 percent.
The dollar fetched 110.69 yen, against 110.53 in New York Thursday afternoon, higher than the 109-yen range seen early in the week.
A weak yen is positive for Japanese exports as it inflates their overseas profits when repatriated.
“Tokyo shares rebounded in the afternoon session backed by a cheaper yen at the 110 yen level,” Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.
Some electronics giants gained ground, with Panasonic up 1.01 percent at 1,493.5 yen and Canon up 1.17 percent at 3,631 yen.
Toyota rose 0.75 percent to 7,170 yen while Uniqlo chain operator Fast Retailing inched down 0.05 percent to 50,910 yen.
Sharp soared 15.18 percent to 2,700 yen after it announced it would cancel a plan to raise some $1.8 billion through a public offering as “the stock market is increasingly unstable because of US-China trade frictions and other factors.”
AFP