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Tokyo investors eye Japan GDP data next week

Tokyo investors will be eyeing revised Japanese GDP figures next week after the release later Friday of US jobs data, as the benchmark Nikkei index marches toward the 20,000 level.

Preliminary data has shown that Japan's economy limped out of recession in the last quarter of 2014, with a weaker-than-expected 0.6 percent expansion between October and December -- or 2.2 percent on an annualised basis.

That followed two consecutive quarters of contraction that came as an April sales tax rise hammered consumer spending.

Investors will be looking to the finalised growth data on Monday to see if they are revised down.

"Buying sentiment is expected to remain strong next week as the (global) economy is on track for a recovery," said Kenzaburo Suwa, strategist at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.

"So it wouldn't be a surprise if the Nikkei hits the 20,000 mark. First, we need to see how the US unemployment rate looks, but we expect strong figures."

On Friday, the Nikkei 225 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 219.16 points by the close to 18,971.00, with the index sitting at 15-year highs. The Nikkei tacked on 0.92 percent over the week.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares added 1.12 percent, or 17.12 points, to end at 1,540.84. It rose 1.11 percent over the past week.

Investors were eyeing a monthly US jobs report that if strong enough could support a Federal Reserve interest rate increase, a move likely to push the dollar up against the yen, which boosts the profitability of Japanese exporters.

In forex markets, the greenback fetched 120.01 yen, against 120.14 yen in New York but it was still up from 119.85 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

The euro remained weak as the European Central Bank said it would begin a 1.1-trillion-euro ($1.2 trillion) bond buying programme, known as quantitative easing (QE), next week.

ECB chief Mario Draghi also said that the ECB was raising its growth forecasts for the 19-nation bloc, although he added that inflation would come in at zero this year, lower than previously projected.

"Investors are positive on QE in Europe and the raising of the growth target, plus there was no really bad news from the US," Andrew Sullivan, head of sales trading at Haitong International Securities, told Bloomberg News.

On Friday, major exporters rose with Canon gaining 2.04 percent to 4,000.0 yen, Konica Minolta up 1.45 percent to 1,255.0 yen, and Toyota rising 1.58 percent to 8,190.0 yen.

Japan's biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ was up 2.83 percent at 778.5 yen.

Shares in Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings jumped 1.91 percent to 3,771.0 yen after the leading Nikkei business newspaper reported the non-life insurer had decided to take a roughly 15 percent stake in French reinsurance giant Scor for more than 110 billion yen ($910 million).

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