Tokyo stocks close up 0.20pc

TOKYO, Aug 12 (AFP): Tokyo stocks rose 0.20 per cent on Tuesday, as the weaker yen lifted exporter shares and after Wall Street notched up gains.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 30.79 points to finish at 15,161.31, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.41 per cent, or 5.18 points, to 1,257.69.
Generally upbeat Japanese corporate earnings have helped lift investor sentiment, as a sharp decline in the yen inflated exporters' profit, analysts said.
"Quarterly earnings have largely come in very decently across the board -- about 10 per cent ahead of analysts' forecasts," said CLSA equity strategist Nicholas Smith.
"This certainly bodes well for guidance upgrades after the fiscal half and third quarter. Fundamentally speaking, stock prices should remain well-supported," he added.
Tokyo's rise followed a positive session for US stocks as investor fears over crises in Iraq and Ukraine began to ease.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10 per cent, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.28 per cent.
In Asian currency markets, the dollar rose to 102.29 yen, from 102.21 yen in New York.