Japanese shares are likely to add further gains next week with major domestic firms, including Japan Airlines and mobile carrier Softbank, on track to report strong financial results, analysts said. "The market is expected to remain bullish as players showed solid buying sentiment," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, an analyst at IwaiCosmo Securities.
"Expectations are high that Japanese firms, led by exporters, are to forecast a brisk performance, mainly thanks to the weak yen. It would be no surprise to see the market test higher levels next week." However, trading may be light with Japan celebrating the "Golden Week" holiday, brokers said.
Japanese financial markets will be closed on Monday and Friday for the national holiday. Other major firms including Toyota and Toshiba report their results after the holiday. In the week to April 26, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 567.65 points, or 4.26 percent, to 13,884.13, while the Topix index of all first section shares rose 34.52 points, or 3.06 percent, to 1,161.19.