Tokyo: Nikkei index closes slightly higher

[TOKYO] Tokyo's key Nikkei index ended higher for a ninth straight day on Friday (Mar 25) after US rallies, but gains were limited due to profit-taking and losses of Asian shares.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.14 per cent, or 39.45 points, to end at 28,149.84, while the broader Topix index was flat, inching down 0.09 points to 1,981.47.

The dollar stood at 121.80 yen, down from 122.38 yen seen on Thursday in New York.

Global investors are assessing "the impact of the latest round of sanctions against Russia" and "mostly impressive US data" as oil prices edge lower, said Edward Moya of Oanda.

"Wall Street knows that the US economy is still looking pretty good but they are trying to figure out how aggressive the Fed will be with tightening, how high oil prices will get, and will the war in Ukraine be over in a few months' time."

Okasan Online Securities said the Nikkei index opened higher after overnight gains on Wall Street, but profit-taking later became dominant with the ninth winning session in sight.

Nintendo jumped 1.66 per cent to 65,780 yen while drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo soared 3.66 percent to 2,700 yen.

Embattled engineering conglomerate Toshiba rebounded 0.56 per cent to 4,788 yen after a sharp loss on Thursday, when shareholders voted against the management's plan to spin off the company's electronic devices segment.

SoftBank Group dropped 1.74 per cent to 5,402 yen while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing slid 0.25 per cent to 63,070 yen. AFP