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Melbourne - US earnings and Japanese trade data will be among the key trading cues for Tokyo investors next week, as markets bounce back on easing fears over the Greek debt crisis and China's stock market rout.
“We've had a relief rally over the last few days as tensions have eased,” said Tim Schroeders, a portfolio manager at Pengana Capital in Melbourne.
“Perhaps that's enough for the time being without further fuel to drive markets a lot higher from here on.”
On Friday, the Nikkei 225 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 50.80 points to end at 20,650.92, marking a five-day winning streak. It tacked on 4.4 percent over the week.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares was up 0.13 percent, or 2.11 points, to 1,662.94, for a 5.0 percent gain in its best weekly performance this year.
Investor sentiment brightened as the European Central Bank increased its lifeline for Greece's banks, while the Chinese stock market steadied after a hair-raising dive over the last month.
Investors are likely to shift their focus to US corporate earnings and economic data, Daiwa Securities said in a client note.
Japanese trade data for June, due Thursday, comes amid worries over slowing growth in the world's number three economy, it added, after the Bank of Japan this week cut its inflation and growth forecasts.
But “the US economy is looking strong, with the corporate sector doing well and employment recovering”, Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura, told Bloomberg News.
“The weaker yen will feed through to Japanese companies' earnings and boost the nation's shares. But we might see some profit-taking.”
In Friday Tokyo trade, mobile carrier SoftBank rose 0.61 percent to 7 071 yen, major bank Mitsubishi UFJ added 1.19 percent to 902.1 yen while rival Mizuho Financial group gained 0.37 percent to 270 yen.
Toshiba added 2.03 percent to 376.8 yen. After markets closed, Toshiba said it would release next week an independent report on accounting irregularities at the sprawling conglomerate which makes everything from batteries to nuclear reactors.
The company overstated about 200 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in operating profits for the past five fiscal years, local media said, adding that its president could be forced to resign over the issue.
AFP