Tokyo: Stocks end marginally higher

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks closed slightly higher on Friday, supported by gains in Chinese shares, but trade was sluggish with investors in a wait-and-see mode ahead of the weekend.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which fell at the open, inched up 0.06 per cent or 13.16 points to end at 20,418.81. Over the week, it lost 1.29 per cent.

The broader Topix index climbed 0.10 per cent or 1.44 points at 1,485.29. Over the week, it fell 1.23 per cent.

"Tokyo shares opened lower due to concerns over a sluggish global economy... but they later moved into positive territory, helped by gains in Chinese shares," Yoshihiro Ito, Okasan Online Securities chief strategist, said in a note.

The dollar fetched 106.07 yen in Asian trade, against 106.10 yen in New York and 105.91 yen in Tokyo on Thursday.

In Tokyo share trading, chipmakers were among the gainers, with Tokyo Electron jumping 1.97 per cent to 18,800 yen.

Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing edged up 0.09 per cent to 62,380 yen despite reports that some South Korean consumers were boycotting its products amid a tit-for-tat Tokyo-Seoul trade war linked to historical issues.

Sony fell 0.37 per cent to 5,816 yen while IT investor SoftBank Group lost 1.11 per cent to 4,897 yen.

AFP