Tokyo investors eye Japan data, Fed meet minutes next week

TOKYO, July 4 (AFP): Tokyo stocks have returned to their winning ways as the Nikkei 225 index finished at a more than five-month high Friday, with investors looking to minutes from the Fed's June meeting and Japanese data next week.
Among key data slated for release in the coming days are Japanese current account figures and machinery orders which could further cement hopes for a pickup in the world's number three economy, Nomura Securities said in a note to clients.
Machinery orders, a key leading indicator of corporate capital spending, "are expected to show continued strength, supported by a recovery in the international economy," Nomura said.
Investors will also examine minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy setting meeting last month to gauge the outlook for the central bank's future monetary policy.
Rising investor confidence has helped drive up the Nikkei index, after strong US jobs data sparked another record-breaking advance on Wall Street and a dollar rally against the yen.
On Friday, the headline index added 88.84 points to finish at 15,437.13, its best close since late January, and marking a 2.27 per cent gain over the week.
The index is still down about 5.0 per cent from its 2013 closing high.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 0.52 per cent, or 6.65 points, to 1,285.24 on Friday, adding 2.56 per cent on the week.
Nomura and Daiwa Securities separately tapped the Nikkei to cross the 16,000 level on blossoming hopes for a continuing economic recovery in Japan.
Global equities jumped as the US Labor Department announcement on Thursday that the world's top economy added 288,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate fell to 6.1 per cent from 6.3 per cent in May, suggesting that a recovery was well on track.
Wall Street enjoyed a third straight day of record highs, with the Dow jumping 0.54 per cent to break 17,000 for the first time, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.55 per cent to 1,985.44.
The dollar also surged on the news, jumping to 102.20 yen in New York Thursday from 101.88 yen in Tokyo earlier in the day. On Friday in Tokyo the unit held up, sitting at 102.05 yen.
A weaker yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and increases profits when repatriated.
In share trading, Sharp rose 0.90 per cent to 336 yen after it said it was eyeing an overhaul of its sluggish European business, while the leading Nikkei business daily said the Japanese giant would pull the plug on its home appliance unit on the continent.