The Nikkei ended the session stable (-0.04% to 28,930.33 points) but still rose 1.3% over the week as a whole. The broader Topix index gained Friday 0.2% to 1,994.52 points.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange was treading water on Friday, partly supported by positive US indicators and the fall in the yen but having generally preferred to play it safe.
The flagship Nikkei index ended the session stable (-0.04% to 28,930.33 points) but still rose 1.3% over the week as a whole. The broader Topix index gained Friday 0.2% to 1,994.52 points.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index also moved little (-0.2% around 06:30 GMT).
The New York Stock Exchange closed higher on Thursday, but without much conviction either, thanks to two good macroeconomic surprises in the United States: a figure for new weekly jobless claims below expectations and the return to green a regional index of industrial activity in August.
Global equity markets should struggle to settle on a clear trend before the annual high mass of central banks at the Jackson Hole (Wyoming) symposium next week, Okasan Online Securities said in a note on Friday.
The suspense remains in particular on the magnitude of the next rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
On the side of values
CONFIDENT ASAHI: in an interview with the Bloomberg agency, Atsushi Katsuki, the general manager of the Japanese brewer Asahi Group Holdings (+0.71% to 4,794 yen) was confident about the financial results of the firm next year thanks to its price increases in the general inflationary context.
“There is no reason to fear a recession,” Katsuki said. In the alcoholic beverage sector, “if luxury spending falls, demand turns to beer.”
On the side of oil and currencies
Oil prices started to fall again on Friday: around 06:40 GMT the barrel of American WTI yielded 0.83% to 89.75 dollars and the barrel of Brent from the North Sea fell by 0.7% to 95.91 dollars.
In terms of currencies, the dollar rose to 136.29 yen around 6:50 a.m. GMT against 135.89 yen Thursday at 9:00 p.m. GMT, and the euro was at 137.45 yen against 137.08 yen the day before.
In addition, one euro traded for 1.0083 dollars, against 1.0087 dollars Thursday at 9:00 p.m. GMT.