Tokyo stocks rise 0.79% by break

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 119.33 points to 15,258.29 by the break, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.70 percent, or 8.57 points, to 1,240.91.

“The weaker yen should naturally benefit Japan stocks, and help to highlight the fact that shares are looking cheap from many perspectives,” said Mutsumi Kagawa, senior global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.

The dollar rose into the 108-yen range Thursday, with risk sentiment lifted by encouraging Chinese manufacturing data and solid readings for eurozone business activity.

A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and inflates profits when repatriated.

Despite Tokyo’s rise, investors will be keeping a close eye on the situation in New York where officials on Friday confirmed the city’s first known case of the Ebola virus.

A doctor who recently returned to New York from treating Ebola patients in Guinea tested positive on Thursday for the deadly virus,

In forex trade, the dollar had slipped by Friday at midday in Tokyo, buying 108.04 yen against 108.27 yen in New York, but well above 107.24 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

In share trading, Toyota rose 1.40 percent to 6,130.0 yen by the break following a report that it is set to book a record operating profit in the six-month period to September.

Auto parts giant Takata remained under selling pressure, losing 2.14 percent at 1,548.0 yen on a report this week that US justice officials are investigating the firm over an air bag defect that may have killed several drivers.

Honda fell 1.01 percent to 3,331.5 yen after the automaker said its top executives would return as much as 20 percent of their salary for three months to atone for a recall of more than 425,000 vehicles in Japan due to electrical system glitches.

US stocks bolted higher Thursday following a series of mostly strong earnings reports from Dow companies Caterpillar, 3M and others.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 1.32 percent while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.23 percent.-AFP