Stocks in Tokyo climbed Friday after an overnight rally on Wall Street and as export-oriented issues were bolstered by a weaker yen, according to dpa. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 41.69 points, or 0.37 per cent, to close at 11,286.09, while the broader Topix index gained 4.13 points, or 0.42 percent, to end the day at 989.39. A weaker yen boosted exporters such as Sharp Corp and Canon Inc. Sharp rose by 2.72 per cent while Canon was up 0.8 per cent. Investors were still optimistic about the economic outlook in Japan and the United States while being cautious ahead of the key US employment data due out later in the day. US stocks rose overnight, buoyed by strong manufacturing data in the US and other major economies. On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT) in Tokyo, the dollar traded at 93.84-87 yen, up from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 93.61-62 yen. The euro traded at 1.3568-3571 dollars, up from 1.3501-3502 dollars Thursday, and at 127.33-37 yen, up from 126.39-43 yen. A weaker yen makes Japanese companies' products more competitive abroad and improves their overseas profits when the revenues are repatriated.
