Tokyo stocks ended slightly higher Friday, clawing back early losses after a mixed US jobs report, while investors look ahead to Greece's weekend bailout referendum, which could decide its future in the eurozone. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 0.08 percent, or 17.29 points, to close at 20,539.79, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was up 0.23 percent, or 3.85 points, to finish at 1,652.09.
US data on Thursday showed the world's biggest economy created a solid 223,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent. But hourly earnings were flat compared with May, while the estimates for job growth in April and May were cut. The data called into question the likelihood the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates in September, as many market-watchers predict. "I don't think the US labour market is getting worse, but it's not getting better either," Nobuhiko Kuramochi, head of investment information at Mizuho Securities, told Bloomberg News.
"It's not a reason for the Federal Reserve to hurry into raising interest rates. Polls on the Greek vote show that the results are in the balance. It's difficult for investors to move on Japanese stocks with major events ahead of us." Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras broke off debt reform talks Saturday and called the plebiscite on creditors' proposals - leading it to default on a loan repayment Tuesday. European leaders have warned that the poll is effectively an in-out vote on Greece's future in the eurozone.
In Tokyo, market heavyweight Fast Retailing's shares dropped 3.68 percent to 55,740 yen after reporting lower sales last month at its Uniqlo stores. Mobile carrier SoftBank rose 0.18 percent to 7,165 yen, bank Mitsubishi UFJ gained 1.20 percent to 903.5 yen, while Toyota edged up 0.35 percent to 8,182 yen.
On Thursday, Toyota announced the sale price for a new class of shares that must be held for five years, will not be publicly traded and are largely restricted to Japanese investors - a sale opposed by some major overseas shareholders. Toyota said it would sell 47.1 million so-called "AA" shares at 10,598 yen apiece, or a 30 percent premium on Thursday's common share closing price.