Nikkei Financial TOKYO — The Nikkei 225 stock average rose 1.1 percent in Tokyo on Friday, buoyed by exporters like Canon that benefit from a stronger global economy.
The NEC Corp. soared 8.9 percent to 270 yen after Japan’s biggest PC maker said it plans to raise up to $1.5 billion in shares to shore up its capital and invest in growth businesses.
The gains in Asia follow a strong showing in U.S. markets. The Dow Jones industrial average ended above 10,000 for the first time in two weeks, jumping 203.82 points, or 2.08 percent, to end at 10,005.96.
Analysts at Nikkei Financial said Investor optimism got a lift in the United States and later in Asia by data showing U.S. non-farm productivity rose more than expected in the third quarter as companies squeezed more output from a smaller pool of labor. A separate report showed fewer U.S. workers filed new jobless insurance claims than forecast last week — hitting a 10-month low.
The claims report boosted investor sentiment, and created some anticipation that maybe Friday’s U.S. employment report may be better than expected.
Toyota Motor Corp edged up 0.8 percent after it announced a surprise quarterly profit and halved its annual loss forecast on Thursday, Nikkei Financial believe this may not be enough to convince investors that the worst is over for the world’s No.1 carmaker.
