Tokyo stocks close up 0.50%
Tokyo stocks added 0.50 percent on Monday after the yen weakened against the dollar in response to data showing the US economy expanded more than initially estimated in the April-June quarter.
The key Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 80.78 points to 16,310.64, while the Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.40 percent, or 5.35 points, to 1,337.30.
In the United States the Commerce Department said the economy grew 4.6 percent in the second quarter, better than the previous 4.2 percent estimate.
The figure is a strong rebound from the first quarter's 2.1 percent contraction, which was blamed partly on severe winter weather that hit the country at the start of the year.
It was also the fastest pace since 2011.
On currency markets the dollar fetched 109.60 yen Monday afternoon, up from 109.28 yen in New York Friday and closing on the 110 yen mark.
The euro bought $1.2680 and 138.97 yen against $1.2683 and 138.60 yen in US trade.
Focus will now turn to the release of US jobs data Friday, with a better-than expected reading likely to put further upward pressure on the greenback, dealers said.
"This Friday's US jobs data are the critical near-term factor," Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"At any rate, it's become clear over the last few months that any selloffs are likely to be short-lived."
Investors appeared to be largely discounting the financial impact of a deadly volcanic eruption in central Japan.
Shares in SoftBank lost 1.17 percent to 7,807.0 yen after media reports that the Japanese telecoms giant is in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation, the biggest independent animated film studio in Hollywood.
The deal could value DreamWorks at $3.4 billion, the Hollywood Reporter said.
Pharmaceutical firm Daiichi Sankyo slipped 1.16 percent to 1,738.0 yen after reports that it would buy out US Ambit Biosciences.
US stocks Friday finished an up-and-down week on a high note, posting solid gains on a strong Nike earnings report and a rally in Apple shares.
On Wall Street the Dow rose 0.99 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.86 percent and the Nasdaq rallied 1.02 percent.
bur-si/mtp
