Tokyo - US housing sales and Japanese inflation figures are among the data that Tokyo investors will focus on next week as the Nikkei marches toward the 20,000 mark.
On Friday, the Japanese market closed 0.43 percent higher on bargain-hunting, but Nintendo retreated after the videogame giant surged more than 30 percent in two days on a plan to enter the smartphone gaming market.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 83.66 points to finish at 19,560.22, a fresh 15-year high. Over the week, the index tacked on 1.59 percent.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.30 percent, or 4.70 points, to end at 1,580.51. It rose 1.29 percent over the week, marking the ninth consecutive rise and the Topix's longest winning streak since February 2013, according to Bloomberg News.
"There is no overheating felt now as Japanese stocks are rising gradually," said Junichi Misawa, senior official at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.
He added that bumper corporate profits could push the Nikkei above 20,000 for the first time since early 2000.
On deck for next week are US housing sales and inflation data, HSBC's preliminary China manufacturing purchasing managers' index for March, and eurozone manufacturing data.
Japan also releases a slate of month-end figures including unemployment and inflation.
The Tokyo market got off to a slow start Friday but dip buying emerged in later trading with bank and automaker shares providing support.
The positive close reversed a drop Thursday following a surprisingly dovish forecast by the Federal Reserve for US economic growth and interest rates that sent the yen surging against the dollar -- hitting Japanese exporters.
However, the greenback has since recovered from a tumble below the 120 yen level to buy 120.71 yen in Tokyo on Friday, slightly down from 120.80 yen in New York.
Investors are also keeping a close eye on Greece, which has agreed to give creditors a new list of reforms within days in order to secure bailout funds.
In Tokyo share trading, Nintendo fell 6.57 percent to 17,845.0 yen. The stock surged by about a third in the previous two days after the Super Mario and Pokemon creator said it would enter the booming market for games on smartphones, in a U-turn long sought by investors.
The company had long stuck with a policy to concentrate on home games consoles that critics saw as unrealistic in a market where cheap -- and sometimes free -- games for smartphones and tablets were soaring in popularity.
Toyota rose 1.26 percent to 8,598.0 yen, rival Nissan climbed 0.43 percent to 1,271.0 yen, bank Mitsubishi UFJ climbed 0.64 percent to 790.0 yen, and mobile carrier SoftBank added 0.51 percent to finish at 7,068.0 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow eased 0.65 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.49 percent, but the Nasdaq added 0.19 percent.
AFP
