Tokyo: Stocks track Wall Street's solid finish to close week higher

[TOKYO] Japanese shares closed higher on Friday, as cyclicals and technology stocks tracked a strong finish on Wall Street, although the gains were capped by concerns over the country's economic recovery and amid a cautious outlook of US equities.

The Nikkei share average rose 0.66 per cent to close at 29,066.18, while the broader Topix advanced 0.80 per cent to 1,962.65.

For the week, the Nikkei gained 0.35 per cent to climb just above the 29,000-mark, which market participants said has become a psychological barrier as Japan's outlook of an economic recovery remains uncertain.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at record highs overnight, while the Dow jumped almost 1 per cent after US President Joe Biden embraced a bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal.

"Today's (Friday) market is tracking Wall Street's strong gains. But investors, particularly in Japan, are getting wary of US markets taking a pause anytime soon," Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities said.

"Prospects of an economic recovery in Japan are getting unclear as the number of new Covid-19 infections is on the rise again, and the pandemic could worsen as the country plans to conduct the Olympics."

Cyclical shares rose, with oil and coal developers and steel makers leading the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 sector sub-indices.

Technology stocks also advanced, with Tokyo Electron rising 0.7 per cent, Advantest jumping 1.5 per cent, Fanuc gaining 1.66 per cent.

Shares of Panasonic jumped 4.93 per cent as a filing made by the conglomerate showed it had sold its entire stake in Tesla last fiscal year.

Crisis-ridden Toshiba ended 0.62 per cent lower after rising up to 1.4 per cent as shareholders voted out its board chairman and another director at its annual general meeting.

Mazda Motor, up 8.7 per cent, gained the most on the Nikkei, followed by Kobe Steel rising 4.8 per cent.

Eisai, down 3.96 per cent, was the biggest loser, followed by Mitsui OSK Lines losing 1.34 per cent and CyberAgent I down 1.29 per cent.

REUTERS