Nikkei rises as Fast Retailing jumps; earnings jitters weigh

Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a two-week closing high on Friday, propelled by gains in index heavyweight Fast Retailing, even as investors turned cautious as the earnings season kicked into high gear.

The Nikkei closed 0.6 per cent higher at 39,605.80, logging a 2.5 per cent gain for the week. The broader Topix finished down 0.2 per cent at 2,706.2.

Shares of Fast Retailing jumped 6.1 per cent to become the top percentage gainers, after the owner of clothing brand Uniqlo said on Thursday it had booked record profits for a third straight year.

The rise in Fast Retailing, the heaviest of the Nikkei 's 225 constituents, was enough to keep the Nikkei well in positive territory, even though 160 shares declined.

Despite a dip in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index overnight and Wall Street's three main indexes, Japan's chip-related shares closed higher, tracking gains in Nvidia.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest, which counts Nvidia among its customers, climbed 3.5 per cent. Chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron edged up 0.4 per cent.

The Nikkei struggled to move closer to the 40,000 level, with investors looking forward to a slew of corporate earnings results on Friday and Tuesday, and taking positions carefully ahead of a local holiday on Monday.

"It's difficult to buy before earnings are released," said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

"There's a sense that investors want to discern company earnings trends" before making a move, he said.

Among major losers, AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group was down nearly 1 per cent, telecommunications company KDDI slid 1.7 per cent, and automaker Toyota Motor fell 0.7 per cent.

Seven & I Holdings declined 1.4 per cent. The retailer announced on Thursday a roadmap to hive off underperforming businesses and focus on its convenience store operations, as it aims to fend off a $47-billion takeover bid from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.