Japanese shares were mixed Friday after overnight gains on European markets buoyed the market but the yen's strength weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 17.01 points, or 0.2 per cent, to end at 8,580.39 while the broader Topix index was down 0.14 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 722.11. For the week, the Nikkei declined 0.36 per cent and the Topix was down 0.47 per cent. Tokyo stocks opened higher with the Nikkei up as high as 0.62 per cent, but some exporters started to fall as the yen was still close to record highs against the dollar and the euro. A stronger yen makes Japanese goods more expensive abroad and erodes repatriated earnings. Shares in Sony Corp plunged 4.52 per cent, construction machinery maker Komatsu Ltd lost 1.53 per cent, Hitachi Ltd fell 0.44 per cent and Honda Motor Co was down 0.16 per cent. The nation's key consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, climbed 0.2 per cent in April from a year earlier for the third-consecutive month of increase, the government said. The gain allayed fears over Japan's chronic deflation. On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the euro traded at 99.88-94 yen, up from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 99.56-60 yen, and at 1.2535-2538 dollars, little changed from 1.2538-2539 dollars. The dollar was quoted at 79.68-72 yen, up from 79.41-42 yen late Thursday.
