TOKYO: Tokyo stocks gained 0.19 percent to close at a new seven-year high Friday, extending their winning streak to the sixth straight day as the dollar topped 120 yen again.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 33.24 points to 17,920.45, the best finish since late July 2007, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.35 percent, or 5.07 points, to 1,445.67.
The Nikkei opened lower in the morning on profit-taking, but soon rebounded to continue its bull run, thanks to a weakening yen, a Wall Street rally and hopes for a decisive win for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in elections this month.
A weaker yen has been fuelling the optimistic outlook for Japanese corporate earnings, with falling oil prices also cheering investor spirit.
"The yen and oil prices have been dropping quite quickly. It is highly possible that corporate profits will perform better than expected," said Makoto Morita, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
The European Central Bank also disappointed markets by refusing to unveil any fresh easing measures at its final policy meeting of the year despite the eurozone's tepid growth and anaemic inflation.
Stimulus efforts by major central banks tend to support asset prices globally.
The dollar fetched 120.09 yen in afternoon trade on Friday, moving narrowly after rising past 120 yen on Thursday to hit a fresh seven-year high.
Shares in troubled airbag maker Takata sank 0.53 percent to 1,324.0 yen, while Toyota rose 0.16 percent at 7,742.0 yen and Honda added 0.35 percent to 3,738.0 yen.
But casual fashion operator Fast Retailing fell 1.56 percent to 43,240. SoftBank fell 0.23 percent to 7.785. (AFP)
