Japanese stock market investors will begin turning their focus to third-quarter corporate earning results next week while also monitoring the weaker yen, analysts said Friday.
Over the week to January 19, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index gained 253.43 points or 1.49 percent to 17,310.44, after falling by 0.20 percent the previous week.
The broader TOPIX index of all-first section stocks climbed 28.94 points or 1.72 percent to 1,714.21.
"As there is little market-moving news expected next week, investors can concentrate on earnings reports," said Toyo Securities analyst Ryuta Otsuka.
"They might begin to speculate on good results," said Otsuka.
Next week earnings results are due from mobile telephone operator KDDI and game console maker Nintendo on Thursday, followed on Friday by Advantest, a leading maker of testing equipment for the semiconductor industry.
Investors will be hoping for calmer trading after a choppy week during which shares were buffeted by media reports that first said the Bank of Japan was likely to raise interest rates and then that it had decided not too.
In the end the Bank of Japan decided against raising its ultra-low interest rates Thursday, a move many market watchers said had appeared to suggest the central bank was backing down in the face of political pressure.
The decision sent the yen sliding to the lowest level for nearly four years against the dollar, which provided some support for exporter shares. The Nikkei index finished the week on a downbeat note, falling 60.49 points to 17,310.44 Friday after heavy losses in tech stocks on Wall Street.
"But the Japanese market is in a good condition in terms of investor confidence, which I think will continue next week," said Seiichi Suzuki, analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities.
"Gainers outweighed losers in the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday, and lots of mid- and small-sized shares saw surges this week," he added. Some analysts say the cheaper yen could support share prices of Japanese exporters, while others took the view that international blue chip shares such as Toyota and Canon may have reached a ceiling for now.
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