Japanese shares will likely take a short-term break next week as the benchmark index has been overbought in recent sessions, analysts said Friday. In the week to March 9, the Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 1.56 percent, or 152.71 points, to 9,929.74, with the broader Topix index of all first-section issues up 1.30 percent, or 10.89 points, at 848.71.
The Nikkei index hit 10,007.62 in mid Friday trade, the first breach of 10,000 since August 1, but gave up some of its gains by the close. Tokyo stocks have surged thanks to gains on overseas markets and yen weakness as optimism over a Greek debt solution took hold. On Friday Greece formally announced a successful debt swap, paving the way for a second bailout for Athens, which boosted the euro and the dollar against the safe-haven Japanese currency.
The 130-billion-euro bailout is crucial to Athens avoiding default.
The euro bought $1.3240 and 108.23 yen in Tokyo at 15:05 (0605 GMT), a few minutes after the Greek announcement. The dollar rose to 81.74 yen from 81.56 yen in New York. Investors welcome a weaker yen as it makes Japanese products cheaper in overseas markets and lifts exporters' revenue when it repatriated.
But analysts said Japanese share prices will not likely go up much next week.
"It won't be easy for the index to test 10,500, unless the dollar hits 82 against the yen," Mizuho Securities senior technical analyst Yutaka Miura told Dow Jones Newswires.
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