Tokyo stocks close 0.82% higher

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed 143.88 points higher at 17,648.50, while the Topix index of all first-section shares edged up 0.50 percent, or 7.08 points, to 1,417.19.

“While it depends on the US employment report, the market won’t be in bad shape as we head into next week,” Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura Holdings in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News.

“There are some noticeable bad earnings (but) on the whole the weaker yen is having an effect and we’re seeing more upward revisions,” he said, referring to Japan’s corporate earnings season.

The European Central Bank on Wednesday said it would no longer allow Greek banks to use government debt as collateral for loans, rattling markets and sending the euro tumbling.

However, ECB officials said Thursday Greek banks could still tap their emergency liquidity assistance programme, dampening fears of an immediate crisis while Athens seeks new bailout terms with creditors.

“Greece is still an issue but investors are choosing to focus on the positives,” Tony Farnham, a strategist at Paterson Securities in Sydney, told Bloomberg.

“There would probably be a compromise, whether extending the repayment period on Greek debt or cutting interest rates. There’s further upside in equities given the wave of global monetary easing by central banks.”

Oil explorer Inpex added 0.88 percent to 1,372.5 yen as crude prices extended a recent advance, while camera maker Nikon tumbled 5.47 percent to 1,467 yen after cutting its net-income forecast.

The dollar slipped to 117.25 yen in Asian midday trade from 117.55 yen in US trade Thursday. (AFP)