Japanese Nikkei index closed higher, amid lower yen

The Japanese Nikkei index erased early losses to close higher on Friday, as sentiment was boosted by the rise in US futures after Wall Street’s losses Thursday night, as well as the decline in the yen.

According to “Reuters”, the Nikkei ended the session up 0.56 percent to 26,553.53 points, after it had fallen 0.3 percent earlier in the day due to Wall Street’s losses.

The index recorded a weekly increase of 1.66 percent

The broader Topix index rose 0.59 percent to 1926.87 points, and rose 1.25 percent during the week.

US stock indices closed lower on Thursday night after data indicated a scarcity in the labor market, renewing fears that the Federal Reserve will continue its course of aggressively raising interest rates, which could lead the economy to recession.

“Japanese stocks are strong compared to Wall Street’s weak performance overnight,” said Seiichi Suzuki, senior stock market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

He added, “It seems that investors are betting on the rise of Wall Street in the next session… The weakness of the yen also led to an improvement in sentiment.”

Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo brand, rose 0.94 percent. The share of Daikin Industries, which manufactures air conditioners, rose 2.09 percent, and the share of the telecommunications company, KDDI, rose 1.27 percent.

Airlines shares jumped 3.18 percent to top 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government would consider reviewing COVID-19 measures by spring and downgrading the disease to a less severe category.

Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron fell 0.18 percent. The online medical services platform, M3, declined by 1.44 percent.