TOKYO, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei closed higher on Friday to mark its best week in over two months on upbeat earnings, although the broader market was mixed as traders adjusted positions ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the day and a long weekend in Japan.
The Nikkei share average ended up 0.33% at 27,820.04, while the broader Topix edged 0.02% higher to 1,929.34. The Nikkei notched a 1.97% weekly gain — the most since a 2.94% jump in the period to May 28.
Upbeat earnings trends, which lifted the Nikkei this week, continued on Friday. Fujikura surged 16.3%, Nikon Corp rallied 8.44% and video game developer Konami Holdings jumped 7.41%.
Shionogi & Co. climbed 5.5% amid reports it would seek approval for a new COVID-19 treatment by year-end.
There were some earnings disappointments too, with Kobe Steel’s 10.61% slump dragging on the index.
Nintendo, which isn’t a component of the Nikkei, dropped 7.22% after reporting its financial results.
The Topix growth index slipped 0.07%, compared with a 0.1% rise in the value index.
Among Topix subsectors, paper and pulp was the big winner, gaining 1.81%, followed by a 1.36% rise for oil and coal producers. The so-called miscellaneous products index slumped 2.67% and warehouse and wharf dropped 1.98%.
“Selling as people adjust positions ahead of U.S. payrolls and the three-day weekend is weighing on the market,” said a market participant at a domestic securities firm.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has made a labour market recovery a condition for removing monetary stimulus.
Consensus expectations among 80 economists in a Reuters survey is for 870,000 jobs to have been added in July, but estimates range widely from 350,000 to 1.6 million.
Despite the Nikkei’s strong performance this week, it remains stuck below 28,000 since mid-July, the start of a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections.
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